Merlin Ambrosius of Aria
by Snowball519
Summary: 8 years ago Merlin's kingdom was attacked and taken over by his traitorous uncle in the dead of night. Merlin was forced to flee but now 5 of his knights have shown up saying they need him again. Will Arthur help Merlin's kingdom? Will Merlin be able to save his kingdom? How will Arthur react to Merlin's secrets? ROYAL!MERLIN-NO SLASH rated T because I am paranoid
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I so totally own Merlin! It is my mine MINE YOU HEAR ME?! My precious *looks around wildly* my precious. *hisses***  
 **Anyway please read and review**  
 **Also at the very end is a new little bit that I thought was in this chapter but it wasn't idk...**

 **Apologies to anyone who recently started reading, I was editing the chapters and uploading them and something went wrong so all the font information was along side every line, I went through and deleted them, it was a pain but whatever.**

"We must find him!" yelled one knight standing up and slamming his fist on the table.

"We have no idea where to look!" cried another.

"So we search!" said a third.

"We don't even know where to begin!"

"Yes we do" Rang out another voice, but this one was calm and clear, demanding attention, everyone turned to look at the speaker

The second knight scowled, "he would never go there." He declared angrily.

The speaker looked at him calmly "where else would he go?"

The first knight looked at everyone's grim expressions in confusion "What? Where is he?" he asked confusion filling his voice

Everyone looked at him and the speaker turned to him as he said:

"Camelot, our prince is in Camelot."

"MERLIN!"

Merlin sprinted out of Arthur's chambers a wide grin on his face. He ran through the halls dodging servants and guards. They quickly moved out of the way, everyone knew the manservant had angered (most likely by pranking) the king yet _again_. Some looked at him with contempt for disrespecting their king. Others just laughed or rolled their eyes.

Merlin burst through the door to Gaius's chambers making the old physician drop a potion in surprise. Seeing his ward burst through the door a wide grin on his face Gaius immediately knew what had happened and a second later his suspicions were confirmed.

"MERLIN!" Gaius recognized Arthur's voice yell Merlin's name down the hall leading to his chambers.

Merlin jumped and ran into his room saying, "I'm not here!" and closing his door behind him. Gaius rolled his eyes in fond exasperation.

A second later a seething Arthur barged through the door. Gaius raised an eyebrow at the state of the king. He was dripping wet and his face was red with anger.

He looked at Gaius questioningly and the physician nodded his head towards Merlin's bedroom.

"MERLIN!" Arthur yelled stomping toward Merlin's bedroom door. He burst through the door and Gaius heard a series of bangs and crashes before Arthur came out pulling Merlin by his ear.

"ow ow ow ow" Merlin cried as Arthur lead him out of the room with a nod at Gaius. Merlin shot a How-could-you? glare at Gaius and Gaius responded with an expression that said what-do-you-expect-he's-the-king. Merlin just scowled and Gaius simply shook his head and went back to work.

Five knights tore down the country road horses at full gallop and dark blue cloaks billowing out behind them.

They rode so fast and hard you would think hell itself was on their heels yet large grins lit up their faces.

The time had finally come; they would finally see their prince again. One of the knights scowled as he remembered why he had to leave in the first place, he shook his head and willed himself not to think about it.

They would have to ask the king of Camelot for help in both finding the lost prince and securing the kingdom again. It might be difficult because of the king's hate for magic, but they had to try. If nothing else he would help them find the prince.

-line break-line break-line break-line break-line break-

Leon, Gwaine, Percival, and Elyan were on a patrol. Gwaine was telling yet another tavern story as the others were cursing their luck to always being put on patrol with Gwaine. Leon was about to tell Gwaine to shut up when he saw a flicker of light from the woods and heard a murmur of voices.

Leon quietly dismounted and drew his horse, the others quickly followed suit. Leon crept forward and motioned for the others to surround the camp. When he reached the edge the of the camp he saw five knights in royal blue cloaks. On the cloaks, there was an image of a Dragon breathing fire at the end of the dragon's flames a sword protruded. The flames parted around the sword so the sword was engulfed in flames. The entire thing was stitched in fine silver.

Leon took another step, hoping to get a better look. Stepping forward he winced as he stepped on a twig, cutting off the men's conversation.

-line break-line break-line break-line break-line break-

Sir Richard froze as he heard a twig snap, then in one fluid motion he stood and drew his sword. He spun around and saw the source of the noise. It was a Knight of Camelot, he had shoulder length blond hair and blue-grey eyes. He was shorter than Sir Richard, not surprising seeing as not many were even close to his size. Soon three other knights emerged from the woods, surrounding the Knights of Aria. Sir Richard was surprised to see one man amongst the group who was only slightly smaller than him, from the man's expression he was equally as surprised.

The second Richard had drawn his sword so had the others. They quickly backed up into a circle protecting each other's backs, The Knights of Aria knew they could win, the Camelotians were outnumbered. Richard sheathed his sword and held his hands up in a show of peace and motioned for the others to do the same.

Leon studied the five in front of him. The one who looked to be the leader stepped forward. He had sandy hair with streaks of grey in it. He had a long scar across his face and was slightly bigger than Percival, although Leon didn't even know how that was possible. He looked to be in his late 40's and had soft brown eyes. His eyes held a look that Leon recognized as a look of a man who had seen far too much bloodshed. But the also held a look of determination.

"We do not wish to fight." He said in a low gravely voice, sheathing his sword and holding his hands in a placating gesture.

"Who are you and where are you here?" Leon asked still gripping his sword.

"We are Knights of Aria. As to why we are here?" he shrugged and looked at his companions. "We seek an audience with your king.

-line break-line break-line break-line break-line break

"Unbelievable!" Arthur exclaimed throwing his hands in the air in defeat "I put you in the stocks and you find a way to enjoy it! Only you _Mer_ lin!" Arthur looked at his manservant who stood before him he was covered in rotten vegetables (mostly tomatoes) and had a large grin on his face

He opened his mouth to give a snarky reply but was cut off by a loud knocking at the door.

"Enter!" Arthur called and a confused looking Leon stepped in.

"Sire," he said bowing to Arthur "there are five Knights waiting who have requested an audience"

"Where are they from?" Arthur asked and when Leon answered he was puzzled to see Merlin's face drain of color.

"Aria. They are Knights of Aria"

-end-end-end-end-end-end-end-end-

 **Soooooo love it? Hate it? Want it to burn in a hole? Please review it means a lot I already have the next chapter written in a notebook not sure when I will be able to Piet it though reviews motivate me though! Also, thank you to all who have already followed/favorited and ESPECIALLY reviewed I mean wow I didn't expect that**  
 **Also so sorry if you thought this was a new chapter I will be getting a new chapter up ASAP**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm back! Yay! So this chapter was inspired a lot by mysterygal12's "The Little Prince" it's really good if you like Royal Merlin fics so go read it and enjoy,**

 **Anyway! Please read and review! They mean sooooooo much to me on that note I would like to thank everyone who has favorite/followed and a special thanks to AltoOwl, Stacciatella, Psyka, Athena1342, and Guest! Your reviews mean sooooo much!**

Merlin was nervous, one of his biggest secrets was about to be revealed. He sent up a silent prayer to the triple goddess hoping against hope that his knights wouldn't recognize him. He knew it was futile; his knights would most definitely recognize him. He just hoped he could send them a message not to reveal him.

Suddenly the doors opened and Merlin's knights, his friends walked in. Merlin's breath caught and a tear came to his eye. He hadn't realized how much he missed them until now.

Richard looked older than he was, the years of war had not been kind to him. His sandy hair was streaked with grey and his face had a long scar on it. The scar ran from his left temple down to his chin and ran over his eye giving him a mean look even though he was one of the kindest men Merlin knew. He walked with a slight limp and favored his left leg.

Sir Nathan looked much the same as when Merlin had seen him last. His black hair, similar to Merlin's own stood up in random places messily yet somehow styled. He had grown into his long arms and legs, so he wasn't so gangly and awkward anymore. Sir James and Sir Thomas being twins shared the same light brown hair, the only difference being the eyes. James had piercing blue eyes while Thomas had warm chocolate brown eyes.

Merlin then studied Sir Owen. He had shoulder length blond hair and green eyes. His hair was long enough that he had to brush it out of his eyes. Before Merlin could expect them further, however, Arthur spoke.

"Welcome! Knights of Aria!" He greeted his arms open in a welcoming gesture and then his face turned serious. "You are welcome here in Camelot if you wish to stay, but I must ask as to why you are here?" The Knights all bowed respectfully; Sir Richard stepped forward.

"We have come in seek of help. Our kingdom was taken over eight ago when the king's brother betrayed the royal family and attacked in the dead of night." He spoke with venom in his voice as he spoke of the betrayal and the knights and Merlin clenched their fists angrily. "Our Prince was forced to flee; we had to give him a sleeping draught to knock him out. He wanted to stay and fight." Richard said with a slight chuckle of pride.

As Richard was speaking James looked around the throne room curiously. As he was looking around, his gaze slid passed Merlin who breathed a sigh of relief but also felt a little hurt. As James continued to look around his brain finally processed who he had seen and he gasped, Merlin winced as James gasped and his eyes flew back to Merlin in realization. His eyes widened and he jabbed Thomas with his elbow, making the said knight glare at him. James jerked his head in Merlin's direction and Merlin suddenly found the ceiling extremely interesting. Thomas followed the James' gaze and then looked back at James expectantly but then did a double take. As his eyes landed on Merlin again they widened and he made a move to go to him but Merlin's voice sounded in his head

" _Don't."_ It said urgently _"Don't reveal me. Not yet. They don't know who I am"_ This message played in all the knight's heads, if they were surprised at the sudden voice of their prince in their heads, they hid it well.

"Recently we heard rumor of our prince being in Camelot." Richard said shooting a glance at Merlin, who quickly looked away. "and we wish to find him and bring him home. We have come to ask for your aid in finding him and gaining back our kingdom." He finished, once more bowing but this time Merlin could tell it was aimed at him but to anyone else it would have looked to be directed at Arthur. The rest of the knights quickly followed suit. Then Arthur spoke again.

"Forgive me," he began "but I cannot tell you my decision right now, I must speak with my knights."

Richard nodded "Of course my lord." Arthur motioned to Merlin.

"My manservant Merlin will show you to your guest chambers." With that Arthur stood and left.

_LineBreak_LineBreak_LineBreak

The Knights of Aria followed their Prince down the hall eagerly wanting to talk to him. Suddenly a voice called out from behind them.

"Merlin, Mate!" A brown haired knight with shoulder length hair called, the Knights of Aria recognized him as Sir Gwaine from the earlier patrol. He gave the Knights of Aria a suspicious look, obviously not trusting them with his friend. "How about I help you take these knights to their rooms? Then we can go to the tavern." Gwaine suggested. The Knights of Aria tensed as Gwaine drew closer and put his hand on Merlin's shoulder.

"No Gwaine, It's fine," Merlin said shrugging of Gwaine's hand. "I'm just going to show them their rooms and go to sleep."

Sir Owen's hand flinched toward his sword as Gwaine put his arm around Merlin, "Come on mate! Have some fun for once!" He said steering Merlin away.

"He said, No." Sir Owen growled, gripping his sword, the other knights followed suit. Gwaine shoved Merlin behind him protectively; this seemed to be the wrong move.

With a cry of anger, Sir Owen drew his sword and charged at Gwaine. The other knights also drew their swords but stayed put. As Merlin watched in horror he realized Gwaine wouldn't be able to bring his sword up in time. Merlin didn't have much of a choice, he had to use magic and Gwaine would see, there was no lying his way out of this one, But Merlin had to save Gwaine he was his friend. Merlin's eyes flashed gold, and Sir Owen ran into an invisible shield.

_End_End_End_End

 **So did you like it? I hope you did. Please leave me a review!**

 **So Gwaine wasn't really supposed to find out this early it just kind of happened so I hope y'all like it, coming up: Will Arthur help? How will Gwaine react? Also, do you guys want a couple flashbacks? Answer in you review *hint hint***

 **Until Next Time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So I know this chapter is short but I will make up for it by posting soon. Thank You Thank You Thank You! to all reviewers/followers/favorites it inspires me to write faster and post more.**

Gwaine breathed out a sigh of relief and turned to Merlin. "thanks mate." He said. Merlin stared at him in astonishment.

"WHAT?!" he (although he would never admit it) screeched "just 'thanks mate' no 'you just used magic!'?" Merlin exclaimed, slightly angry, Gwaine just shrugged.

"Well mate, you weren't exactly subtle about it, plus the whole- nevermind" Gwaine cut himself off "We can talk later right now we have to deal with these guys he said pointing his sword at the Knights of Aria. "wait a minute" Gwaine said a puzzled look crossing his face "Why don't you guys seem surprised?" he asked looking at the other knights.

Richard, the only one not to draw his sword, shrugged "Cause we aren't" he replied simply. Gwaine gave them a puzzled look and looked to Merlin for an explanation. Merlin ran a hand over his face and sighed.

"Follow me; I will explain it all in a moment." Gwaine was surprised at the commanding tone Merlin help and how natural it sounded on him. He quickly followed and shot a suspicious glance at the other knights. Sir Owen still had his sword at the ready and was glaring at Gwaine. Merlin turned slightly and saw this and looked to Owen.

"Sheath your sword Sir Owen," he said his voice demanding obedience, Then to Gwaine's utter surprise Sir Owen gritted his teeth and sheathed his sword. Merlin nodded at him and turned around and continued to walk towards the guest chambers.

The second the small group stepped into one of the guest chambers they all seemed to completely forget about Gwaine. Merlin turned around on his heel and grinned, then Sirs Owen, Nathan, Thomas, and James all looked at each other and grinned as one, they all turned to Merlin who looked at them with fear in his eyes. Richard simply stood back and crossed his arms, watching in fond exasperation Knights tackled the prince with a giant group hug.

After a few minutes Merlin emerged from the, laughing and a gleeful look in his eye and turned to Richard. His face turned serious as he held out his arm for Richard who grasped in at his forearm and Merlin did the same to Richard in a show camaraderie. After a moment Richard grinned and pulled Merlin into a bear hug.

After a second Merlin pulled back and his face turned serious again.

"Sir Richard" Merlin began "As glad as I am to see you all I have to ask, why are you here and how did you find me?" he asked. Richard quickly turned equally as serious and bowed.

"Sire, we have managed to gain back the city from your uncle. It was a long and hard battle we lost many but we gained back the kingdom. But even as we speak your uncle is amassing a large army to take it back, the people are afraid and they need a leader. We cannot win this without you my lord." As he finished Richard got on one knee and kneeled before Merlin and the rest of his knights quickly followed suit. Merlin looked at his knight his expression one of determination and thought.

And then, Gwaine coughed.

 **Ok, I know this is a short chapter and I am sorry but I just had to end it there, I am going to the beach this weekend so I won't be able to update but I will be writing. I hope you all liked Gwaine's reaction. Also please leave your thoughts in your review *hint hint***

 **Until Next Time!**

 **P.S. I just kind of threw in the Arthur bit to make it longer for you guys.**

 **P. P. S. Ok I'm sorry I decided to delete the bit about Arthur talking to Richard I realized it created a plot hole for something later on sory**


	4. Chapter 4

**So I'm back! I deleted the part about Arthur talking to Sir Richard because it messes something up later on so yeah, Thank you thank you thank you to all of my reviewers/follower/and favorites your support means sooo much! This chapter is mostly flashback btw**  
 **Anyway, Enjoy!**

Merlin turned around in surprise; he had completely forgotten about Gwaine. Then Merlin realized that Gwaine had seen the entire conversation that had just taken place. Merlin shifted awkwardly, but then he took a strong, commanding pose and looked at Gwaine defiantly; he would not deny who he was anymore.

"Merlin, mate," Gwaine began eyeing Sir Owen who had stood up and was standing protectively in front of Merlin, hand on the hilt of his sword. "what, um what exactly just happened?"

"Well…" Merlin began

*Begin Flashback*

 _Thirteen-year old Merlin had just been woken up due to the warning bell ringing. Two knights quickly ran into his room, one of them being Sir Richard. In one swift move, he swept the young prince into his arms and carried him into the hall still gripping his sword in his hand. As they ran down the hallway littered with bodies some knights, some enemies, Merlin cried out in pain as a crossbow bolt dug into his thin calf. Sir Richard turned around and saw the man who had shot the young prince. With a growl he handed the young boy off to the other knight he was with and quickly defeated the shooter. As he started to walk back to the pair the shooter managed to sit up and knock a bolt into his crossbow, seeing this Richard quickly brought his sword down on the man's neck, but he wasn't fast enough._

 _The black bolt tore through the second Knights Armor, chainmail, and finally, chest. Sir Richard quickly ran to his side._

 _"Robinson!" he cried, reaching the dying knight's side. "Don't die, come on, we've been through so much together you can't die, not now!" Sir Robinson looked at him, his face full of pain but his eyes held a look of determination._

 _"Get-" he gasped out, blood bubbling out of his mouth as he spoke, "Get the p-prince to safety." He pointed a shaky hand to the small boy, tears in his eyes."Please" he gasped out and then he went into a coughing fit, he coughed up blood and after a minute his body went limp, his head rolling to the side and his arm dropping. His eyes stared lifelessly into the distance._

 _"I'll be back my friend." He whispered as he picked the prince up and turned, running down the corridor._

*End Flashback*

"You might want to sit down," Merlin said, motioning to an empty chair.

Gwaine shrugged and obliged before turning back to Merlin.

*Begin Flashback*

 _Sir Richard burst through the small wooden door, the young prince in his arms._  
 _A knight who had been standing by the queen, who was also in the room, quickly came over and took the young boy from the large knight's arms._

 _"Where's Robinson?" he asked, Richard looked at him sadly and shook his head. The knight closed his eyes tightly for a second, when he opened them he saw the Prince's injury. "What happened?" he demanded angrily, setting his jaw._

 _"A crossbow bolt struck him while we were fleeing, I killed the shooter but only after he managed to kill Robinson." He said and anger rose in the other knight's eyes._

 _"I hope he suffered" the knight replied coldly, gripping his hand in anger._

 _"I want to fight!" came the small, determined voice of their young prince._

 _Sir Richard turned to him "No my prince, you are too young and the only heir to the throne, we must get you out of here."_

 _Merlin struggled out of his mother's grasp and stood up defiantly "I must protect my kingdom!" he cried. His mother and Sir Richard both looked at him, their chests filling with pride and sadness. At that moment the physician walked up and pressed a small vial full of clear liquid into the young prince's small hands._

 _"Drink this, my lord," she said, and when Merlin looked at her questioningly she elaborated. "It will help with the pain," she said motioning to his, now bandaged, leg. The prince looked at it suspiciously but drank it. After a second his eyes started dropping, and he began to fall over. Richard quickly lunged forward to catch the falling prince as the sleeping draught took effect._

 _Richard quickly handed the prince to the queen and swiftly moved across the room to a book shelf. After a moment he pried a shelf out of the way, revealing a hidden passage._

 _"Your Majesty," he said, turning to the queen "you must take your son and go, Sir Mathew," he motioned to the other knight "will go with you and keep you safe." The queen nodded and walked toward the passageway, letting Sir Mathew go first to light the way._

 _"Tell my husband I said I love him and- and I shall see him again." her eyes filled with tears as she spoke._

 _"Of course your highness," Richard replied, bowing. Hunith turned and ran down the hidden passageway, holding Merlin to her tightly, Sir Mathew leading the way, Sword in one hand torch in the other. When the torch finally faded into the darkness and out of view, Richard closed the passage, and the physician sealed it with magic. Sir Richard readjusted his grip on his sword, nodded to the physician, and charges out of the room with a war cry of "Long Live The King!" which was echoed by other knights and guards throughout the castle._

*End Flashback*

 **Soooo what do you think? Please tell me! Until Next Time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm back! Finally! Sorry it took so long just lots of stuff happening. Thank you to all reviewers/followers/ and favoriters. I worked really hard on this so please read and review it means soooo much and keeps me going. This chapter is dedicated to my Squishy (you know who you are) and yeah... enjoy**

 **Disclaimer: I don't really have the time, energy, or willpower to do a funny disclaimer so yeah, I don't own Merlin, if I did why the heck would I be writing fanfiction? I mean seriously I would just make it cannon, well maybe not _this_ particular fic but hey, just saying**

Gwaine let out a low whistle.

"Merlin mate, I'm sorry, I had no idea" He said resting his hand on his friends shoulder.

"Its fine" Merlin said shrugging his hand off. "you had no way of knowing." Merlin sighed and stood up, looking around at his knights and Gwaine he spoke "For now though, I will show you all to your rooms and then go to bed, We'll talk tomorrow." Gwaine quickly stood as well, followed by the Knights of Aria.

"Sire-" he began but Merlin cut him off.

"no, just no, no titles please!" he said looking at Gwaine pleadingly "I'm still me, I'm still Merlin don't treat me like I'm special." Gwaine looked at him in surprise and nodded.

"Alright mate, but let me take them to their rooms, you go get some rest." Seeing Merlin look between him and Sir Owen cautiously he added "This can be Sir Owen's room, right?" he asked turning to said knight questioningly. The knight gave a nod and Gwaine turned back to Merlin, a wide grin on his face, Merlin just smiled and shook his head.

"Very well," he relented, turning and leaving the room he said "I will see you all tomorrow."

Once Merlin left Gwaine turned on his heel to the Knights of Aria and grinned. "I have a question" he said his grin getting bigger, when the knights looked at him expectantly he elaborated, "How do I get Merlin drunk?"

Merlin was walking down the hall whistling cheerfully, but his whistling cut off abruptly when as he realized something.

He still had to talk to Gaius.

Merlin cautiously opened the door to his and Gaius's chambers hoping to sneak in. no such luck.

Gaius stood at his workbench expectantly.

"Merlin," Gaius began as Merlin walked in "I certainly hope you were not going to try and sneak past?" he asked

Merlin scratched the back of his neck, "Um, no, why- why would you think that?" he laughed nervously. Gaius raised an eyebrow at him amd Merlin broke down.

"Fine, I was going to try and sneak past you. I-I just don't want to say goodbye yet" he said letting a tear streak down his face. Gaius gave him a sympathetic expression.

"So you're going then?" Gaius asked and Merlin nodded. "I thought as much." he said, nodding. The old physician walked over to Merlin and rested his hand on Merlin's shoulder and looked him in the eye. Merlin looked back desperately.

"I know you can do this." Gaius said reassuringly. "I have said this before and I will say it again, you are like a son to me and if I didn't thi- no, if I didn't _know_ you can do this, I wouldn't let you go."

"I know" Merlin said, sighing "I'm just, I'm just worried, worried about telling Arthur and the knights and there reaction, an- and if I can save my kingdom" Melrin said his voice breaking and tears welling in his eyes "I couldn't do it before I won't fail them again!" he said determinedly, Gaius looked at him in shock.

"Merlin! You didn't abandon your kingdom, you had to flee yes, but that wasn't your fault." Merlin just shook his head

"Thank you Gaius, for everything, a-and I swear I will come back I'm not abandoning you." Gaius nodded and patted his ward on the back.

"I know my boy, I know" He pulled him into a hug and after a moment seemed to remember something and pulled back. "I have something for you." he said walking to his book shelf and opening a small chest. He turned around and Merlin gave him a quizzical look. "Your father left this with me, saying someday the kingdom may be in dire need and that if that happened I was to protect this with my life until you were ready." he said holding u a necklace.

On a simple leather string sat a jewel encased in gold. Jewel was a saphire blue and when Merlin looked at it from a certain angle it seemed as if the gem was a million different colors at once. It was surrounded in pure gold which had small runes carved in the sides of it.

Merlin simply stared at in awe, it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. After a moment he realized Gaius was still holding it out to him and with shaking hands took it, As he put it around his neck he felt a surge of power wash over him. he placed the necklace so his neckerchief hid it and looked to Gaius.

"Thank you." he whispered, his voice rough and tears in his eyes, Gaius nodded.

"Now, go to bed, you have a long day ahad and you need to get your rest." Merlin laughed and nodded.

"Alright Gaius, but you have to go to sleep too." he said walking towards his room and giving his mentor a stern look. Gaius chuckled and nodded, Merlin grinned and went to bed, soon after the old physician went to sleep as well.

-Just a line break passing through, pay no attention, also don't turn around-please, don't turn around-

When Merlin walked into Arthur's chambers that morning he was surprised to find him already up and dressed. He was sitting at his desk and appeared to be thinking.

"I've made a decision." Arthur declared as Merlin went about his morning chores. Merlin looked at him expectently and raised an eyebrow in an impressive imitation of Gaius. "I'm not going." Merlin's face fell in disappointment, maybe Arthur wasn't the man he though he was after all "I simply can't, I have to renewe the peace treaty with Queen Annis, remember?" Arthur asked and looked at Merlin expectently who nodded, now feeling better about Arthur saying no but still disappointed. "But," he said, capturing Merlin's attention who had been trying to think of a way to go to Aria without Arthur. "the knights" he continued, meaning the knights of the round table "have all requested to go when I discussed it with them so I'm sending them." Merlin's face lit up with delight until he remembered something, Arthur would want him to stay with him. He quickly came up with a plan.

"Arthur?" he asked cautiously, Arthur looked up at him expectently "I um, I recently received a message that uh said that my, um, mother, is sick" Merlin tried, hoping Arthur wouldn't see through his lie "and well. I would like to go see her." Arthur looked thoughtful for a second and Merlin prayed to every god he knew that he would say yes, after a second he nodded.

"All right" he said going back to his papers "you can go with the knights most of the way, Ealdor is on the way to Aria, right?" Arthur asked, looking up at Merlin from his large stack of papers, Merlin nodded.

"Thank you Arthur!" he beamed and Arthur just nodded, going back to his papers, Merlin knew he didn't know the full reason for his gratitude but he still said it.

-line break passing through, ignore me, excuse me, just passing through, don't look outside-

During the next two days Merlin wasn't able to talk to the knights of Aria, he was too busy running around doing chores and when he was free they were training or doing other things. Merlin managed to watch a couple of the sessions and was please by what he saw. During one such training session the Knights of Camelot were on the field as well, and well men being men, they challenged each other.

Merlin stood to the side, watching as his knights trained, the Knights of Camelot watched with interest at the technics they were using. Gwaine watched in interest and decided to put them to the test.

"hey!" he cried out walking up to the blue clad knights. "mind if I join?" Sir Richard smirked and shrugged before getting into battle stance. A few minutes later and a shocked Gwaine was on his back, staring at the sky, Sir Richard's sword to his throat.

"Do you yeild?" he asked, smirking at Gwaine's surprised expression. Gwaine nodded and Sir Richard helped him to his feet and Gwaine scowled "I wasn't prepared, lets go again." Sir Richard shrugged and got ready again. Twenty minutes later and Sir Richard ahad just won his third fight against Gwaine who lay on his back, scowling at said the knight of Aria. Leon and the rest of the Knights of the Round Table stood to the side snickering.

"What?!" Gwaine cried, glaring at his friends "You think you can do better?" Leon laughed and nodded, walking forward he prepared to fight the large knight. The rest of the Knights of Camelot quickly squared up against the Knight's of Aria, Gwaine and Sir Nathan, Percival and Sir Owen, Elyan and Sir James, Leon and Sir Richard, and Arthur against Sir Thomas. An hour later and the Knights of Camelot had all been soundly beaten by the Knights of Aria, repeatedly. Merlin stood at the side lines laughing and clutching his sides, Arthur just glared at him and told him to go muck out the stables, to which the Knights of Aria scowled at but said nothing.

 **so like it? love it? want to murder me because of it? Oh that rhymed! anyway please read and review.**


	6. Chapter 6

***peers around corner cautiously* *ducks tomato* he he sorry for being gone so long guys I- *ducks knife* OH COME ON! aaaaannnnnyyyywwwwaaayyyyyy Im soooo sorry for not updating I've been so busy lately I want to scream, I will try to updat quicker but no promises I have a lot going on right now. To Guest who gave me my first death threat on this fic THANK YOU ive been wondering when I would get them, anyway please read and review**

 **Disclaimer: yep I own Merlin**

 **Merlin: No you don't!**

 **Me: shhh my precious shh *hugs Merlin to self while slowly petting his hair***

 **Merlin: *Uncomfortable* uuuuhhhh, can you let go?**

 **Me: shhhhh**

 **Merlin: right um, well I'm leaving now *pushes me away and runs for his life***

 **Me: damn, so close... maybe I should set a trap? hmmmm...**

Merlin woke up to Gaius coming in the door. "Come on my boy, time to get up."

"Noooo," Merlin groaned, rolling over and pulling his pillow over his face "The prat can go one day without breakfast" he heard Gaius chuckle softly to himself.

"It's time to go Merlin, time to go back to Aria." Merlin sat up quickly as Gaius finished talking. His hair was askew and his clothes wrinkled, he had just woken up after all.

"Aria?" he asked brightly, his face lighting up with his signature grin. "Aria!" a few minutes later and he was stumbling down the short stair case and into the physicians chambers, the physician just looked up from the sandwich he was making for Merlin and chuckled.

His ward stood before him clothed rumbled and hair disheveled his bag that he had brought with him to Camelot on his back and though he couldn't see it Gaius knew Merlin's shih staff was strapped to the bag, it was spelled to be invisible so know one would see it.

Looking at the young man before him he was suddenly reminded of how much Merlin had been through since he came to Camelot. The boy that had lumbered into his chambers all those years ago was gone, in his place was a wise young man who had seen far too much for his age. From the outside he looked much the boy that Gaius had first met, his hair was longer, he was slightly taller and a bit more built though. Other than that you couldn't tell the difference, unless you looked him in the eye at the right moment. Most of the time you couldn't see it and it was hidden but if you looked at him when his guard was down you would see it. Wisdom far beyond his years, and the look of someone who had lost far too much and seen too much death and pain, the look of someone who has seen things never meant for human eyes done things that haunted him everynight and every day. But you could only see it for a second otherwise he was just a happy young man who was naïve to the cruelties of this world when in reality he knew them better than any.

Gaius watched his ward proudly as he came into the chambers and when the yound man reached him Gaius pulled him into a strong hug. "you can do this my boy." He whispered softly into his ear "I know you can." He then let a teary-eyed Merlin pull away and look at him.

"Thank you Gaius. I mean it thank you." Merlin said, his voice shaky. The old physician simply nodded and stepped back before shoving the sandwich he had made for the boy into his hands.

"Now go." He said pushing his ward gently toward the door "The knights are waiting for you." At this Merlin perked up slightly and ran out the door but not before yelling one last goodbye to Gaius over his shoulder. Once Merlin was out of sight the old physician made his way to a window in the corridor that looked over the courtyard to watch his son in all but name, leave.

Merlin flew down the stairs, bag on his back and sandwich in hand, when he reached the courtyard he found his horse already saddled and ready to go. He rolled his eyes, he would have to talk to his knights about doing stuff like that for him because while it was nice they were knights and to everyone in Camelot he was a servant. He then saw Gwaine looking at him with a large grin and knew it wasn't a knight of Aria who had readied his horse. Merlin just sighed and rolled his eyes fondly before fastening his bag on the back of his horse and swinging himself into the saddle. A few minutes later and the large group was ready to set of to Aria but before they could they had to bid a formal farewell to Arthur.

Arthur stood at the bottom of the steps leading into the courtyard in his formal attire with his crown on his head.

"Knights of Aria" he began, drawing all attention to himself "I sincerely apologize for not being able to assist your kingdom as much as I wish but I am welcoming Queen Annis into my kingdom this afternoon and naturally I must be here." He said and Sir Richard nodded in acknowledgment as his horse stepped back slightly, "however," he began again "Sirs Gwaine, Leon, Percival, and Elyan wish to accompany you and help you win your kingdom back. So without further ado I wish you all the best of luck and wait anxiously for my Knights _safe_ return." Arthur finished, emphasizing the word s _afe._ The group then turned and rode out of the city.

As the large group rode away from Camelot Percival turned around in his saddle, a knowing expression on his face.

"You're not really visiting your mother, are you Merlin?" he asked, grinning.

"Nope" Merlin said, grinning and popping the 'p' the knights laughed and Leon scowled.

"You shouldn't come to Aria Merlin, it isn't safe for you." Leon couldn't see the Knights of Aria stifling their laughter and a smirk on Sir Richard's face. he did, however, notice when Gwaine burst out in laughter.

"Leon mate, Merlin can take care of himself." Gwaine said, sobering up "he has ridden into many battles with us and come out unshaved." Merlin winced slightly at this, it wasn't _completely_ true but he wasn't going to tell _them_ that.

"He has a point." Percival continued "plus, he never wears armor or even has a sword, which in retrospect is a really horrible idea." He finished, non- chalantly and shrugged. The Knights or Aria scowled.

"You took him into battle unarmed and unprotected?!" Sir Owen exclaimed angrily, the knight of Camelot looked at him in surprise. Owen looked like he was ready to destroy the knights of Camelot singlehandedly but Merlin approached him on his horse and placed a comforting hand on Owen's shoulder. Much to the surprise of the Camelot knights he, instead of shaking the hand away, relaxed slightly. The surprise grew as Merlin spoke.

"Calm, Sir Owen, Im alive." The knights of Camelot gaped at Merlin and he blushed but said nothing else.

They soon continued on and as they rode Gwaine watches as the Knights of Aria subtly surrounded their prince protectively, luckily the other nights of Camelot failed to notice.

 **Finally on the way to Aria! there will be a lot of overprotectiveness of Merlin btw, anyway hope ypu enjoyed and pleeeaaaaassseeeee review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**AU: I know its short, I'm sorry but it jsut had to end there I can update soon though, depending on the reviews...**

When they finally decided to camp the knight of Aria did most of Merlin's chores for him, much to the camelotians astonishment, Gwaine's bemusement, and Merlin's embarrassment. Sir Owen got the firewood before Merlin could and Sir Thomas made a stew.

As the group sat around the fire eating Richard straightened up, and coughed, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"There is something you should know." Richard said, addressing the Knights of Camelot. "I didn't want to tell you all this while we were in Camelot but once I tell you, you are free to abandon this quest and return to your King." The knights all nodded and Richard continued, "In Aria magic is not illegal" the knights, except Gwaine and Percival (not having grown up in Camelot) tensed. "It is in fact embraced. Our prince was using magic was born with it, it was a great source of joy and celebration when the boy started using it within two hours of being born."

Gwaine looked at Merlin in shock, who blushed a bright red and seemed to shrink into himself. The other knights of Camelot looked stunned as well, after a moment Percival nodded.

"I'm fine with that, after my family was killed I grew up with the druids." Everyone looked at him with varying expressions from ones of shock and disbelief to ones of surprised but pleased, and he just shrugged.

"Well, I don't mind magic, I'm actually ok with it always thought old Uther was a bit prejudiced for some reason but I never knew why." he said, his brow furrowing but then he just shrugged and looked expectantly to the other two knights of Camelot. Leon had scowled at the comment about Uther but said nothing to challenge it.

"I don't like it." Elyan said slowly, Sir Richard nodded his head solemnly "but I gave my word. I don't back down on my word." He finished and all eyes turned to Leon who seemed surprisingly ok with the turn of events.

"I don't hat emagic," he said, to everyone's astonishment. Merlin thought that Leon of all people, having lived his entire life under Uther's rule, would despise Magic. "I am wary of it but I do not hate it, When the druids healed me I realized that magic can indeed be used for good." He finished, nodding.

There was silence for a few moments before, surprisingly, Percival broke the silence.

"Speaking of your prince," he began and Richard tensed, he had been ordered by his prince but what was he supposed to say? "I thought you said he was in Camelot and you were looking for him?"

"I did," Richard began slowly "but, while we were in Camelot we found no trace of him, we also sent out knights to other kingdoms, it is possible one of the others found him." Percival nodded, accepting the explanation. Merlin sighed in relief and briefly wondered of Richard was telling the truth. Had other knight gone out to look for him? It seemed likely, he would have to ask later.

-Merlin-Merlin-Merlin-Merlin-Merlin

Later that night as they set up the camp the Knights of Aria stationed themselves around Merlin protectively but in such a way that the knights of Camelot didn't notice. Gwaine, being the only one both groups trusted, took first watch later he would wake Richard, Richard would wake Percival and finally Percival would wake Thomas.

Everyone quickly settled down and during Percival's watch Merlin stood up and Percival turned.

"I have to pee." he said, motioning into the woods behind him, Percival nodded. While Merlin was away Percival decided it was time for Sir Thomas to take watch. He made his way over and shook him awake. Sir Thomas immediatly looked to where Merlin was supposed to be and, seeing the spot empty the mans eyes widened in alarm. With amazing speed he kicked Percival's leg out from under him making Percival, who had had his back to the man as he went to go back to sleep, land flat on his back. Thomas quickly jumped on Percival and, keeping him down, held a dagger to his throat.

Then, in a low, dangerous voice Thomas growled "Where. Is. My. Prince?"


	8. Chapter 8

**AU: So I decided that everytime Merlin tells his story you will get flashbacks, I might however let there be flashbacks without him telling his story idk... Oh my gosh so many reviews! Yay! Guys you might not realize it but I really really love reviews and they keep me going, now I could be evil and not post this and part of me wants to BUT because I got so many reviews (also I don't want to die) I'm posting this: please read and review**

"Sir Thomas!" Merlin said angrily as he walked out of the woods and Thomas turned around to see his prince, an angry expression on his face. Percival, taking advantage of Thomas's distraction grabbed the other knights arm and twisted it behind the mans back, making him drop the dagger. He then pushed Thomas off of him and sprung to his feet, amazingly gracefully for his size, and drew his sword, holding it to Thomas's throat. After a second of heavy breathing and Thomas watching him wearily Percival sheathed his sword and offered Thomas his arm to help him up. Thomas eyed it for a moment before taking it and hauling himself up. percival then turned to Merlin who glared at Sir Thomas who had the decency to look slightly embarrassed

"I went to- erm- relieve myself and I come back to you holding your dagger to Sir Percival's throat! Why did you attack him?" He asked and Thomas smiled at him sheepishly.

"Sorry Sire, i just didn't know where you were and well-" he trailed off

"Well," Merlin began, "now Percival knows and I have to explain everything. You shouldn't just assume something and attack people!" Merlin fumed "also what have I said about titles?" Merlin asked, giving him a stern look. Percival looked between them in confusion as Thomas apologized again.

"Um, Merlin." Percival began slowly "I think you have some explaining to do." Merlin sighed and nodded.

"But first we need to wake Gwaine."

-Line break passing through-don't mind me- just keep reading-excuse me-pardon me-

*Flashback*

 _Merlin woke, his leg burning with pain. He vaguely remembered getting a wound in his leg but he couldn't push past the fog in his brain to remember how or why. He groaned and sat up. Looking around he expected to see his room but was met with a very different site. He was in a clearing, the clearing was small, only 5 people might be able camp there comfortably. It was surrounded by trees and would be hard to see from outside of it but easy to see out from the inside. He recognized the woods as the forest right outside the city._

 _His mother, the Queen, sat near a crackling fire, tears staining her cheeks. As he watched her Merlin noted that her fine dress was torn in several places and she had a nasty gash on her arm but was otherwise unharmed._ _His eyes then drifted of to the side where a knight that Merlin recognized as Sir Mathew, one of his father's closest advisors, stood._

 _The knight was tense and his eyes flitted carefully across every inch of the camp, watching. For what Merlin wasn't sure. He held his sword in his hand, it was covered in blood, some fresh looking, some appeared to be several hours his arm there was a white cloth being soaked through with blood, his blue cloak was torn in several places and there were several stains that might have been blood._

 _As Merlin struggled to sit up both pairs of eyes flitted toward him and his mother sighed in relief. Sir Mathew just looked at him sadly._

 _"What happened?" he asked his mother, fresh tear sprung from her eyes and he turned to the knight_ _expectantly, he studiously avoided the young prince's gaze. Realizing no one was going to talk Merlin, resolving to find out on his own, stood and a sharp pain shot through his left calf, making him fall. Just before he hit the ground however Sir Mathew's strong hand came down, steadying him, he then gently pushed Merlin down, making him sit. The knight then stood in front of him and crouched down on his hind legs so he was looking his prince in the eye. As he looked Merlin in the eye Merlin saw a look or sadness and grief but also one of anger and rage._

 _"You are the heir to the throne" he began gently, his green eyes staring into Merlin's blues ones beseechingly "we had to get you out."_

 _"Get me out? What do you-" Merlin began but stopped as everything came flooding back to him. Being woken by the alarm bells, Sir Richard carrying him, being shot, Sir Richard killing the shooter and then- oh gods then Robinson dying while protecting him. Richard carrying him to the Physicians chambers, him demanding to fight, the potion for the pain and then-_

 _"You drugged me!" he yelled angrily, he balled his small fist and swung at the knight who caught the young Prince's hand in his own worn, strong hand, and looked at him sadly._

 _"The Kingdom has been taken."_

 _*_ End Flashback*

Percival, Merlin, Thomas, and Gwaine sat around the fire talking. Merlin had just finished telling Percival his story and was waiting for him to react to the fact that Merlin had magic. After a minute of Percival not saying anything to ask.

"So" he began cautiously "You- you realize I have magic?" Percival looked at him, not at all surprised.

"Oh, I figured that out awhile ago" he said calmly and Merlin stared at him in astonishment. Merlin didn't know what he had expected for Percival to run him through? For Percival to look at him like he was a monster? maybe. maybe even excepting him but this wasn't even in the range of possibilities.

"How did you two know?!" he demanded and Percival and Gwaine just looked at each other and shrugged.

"You weren't very subtle mate." This was Gwaine.

"I figured it out during the doracha attack, no one could have survived what you did, you should have dies." Percival said calmly and Thomas tensed and turned to Merlin

"You almost _died_?!" he exclaimed, slightly angry but Merlin simply waived him off.

"It wasn't the first time and it certainly wasn't the last or the worst." Percival and Gwaine both raised an eyebrow at this and Thomas' face darkened, Merlin knew he would eventually have to elaborate but now wasn't the time or place. He then turned to Gwaine expectantly.

"oh," he began, realizing all eyes were now on him "I figured it out during the quest to the perilous lands-" he was cut off by Thomas then.

"You went to the perilous lands?!" Thomas exclaimed, staring at Merlin in astonishment and slight anger "you could have-" he began again but was cut off by a look from Merlin that clearly said "shut-up-I-will-explain-later'. Thomas nodded but his expression remained dark at the though of his prince being in danger.

"anyway" Gwaine said, dragging out the word and shooting Thomas a look "I figure it out then, the big clue was the dwarf." Gwaine scowled at the memory of his sword being turned into a flower "and when he said the whole 'magic, strength, and courage' thing I knew I was strength and Arthur _definitely_ wasn't magic which left only one choice." Gwaine finished.

"It was also the entire getting out of impossible fights, random falling branches, bandits dropping swords, spears and arrows missing targets they _really_ should have hit or the spears and bandits hitting other bandits..." Percival trailed off and shrugged and Gwaine just nodded. Gwaine stretched and yawned.

"Well, I don't know about you three but I'm going to sleep." Percival and Merlin both nodded in agreement and the three went to sleep while Thomas kept watch.

-Line break coming through-excuse me-don't mind me-

The next day as the knights and Merlin packed up camp Percival helped with Merlin's chores as well. Over the next week the knights of Aria and the knights of Camelot bonded slightly.

As they were riding on the seventh day, having had no obstacles, Merlin let a happy grin cross his face.

"What's up mate?" Gwaine asked, seeing Merlin's grin. The rest of the group turned and looked at Merlin expectantly.

"Nothing," Merlin replied grinning and, seeing the doubtful expressions on the knights he rolled his eyes "We haven't run into any bandits or anything which proves that it's Arthur whose the trouble magnet not me." As he finished Gwaine sighed and drew his sword."

"Merlin, you just jinxed us." Percival said as he too drew his sword. The knights of Aria had also drawn there swords the secong Gwaine drew his, and were eyeing him and Percival cautiously.

"No I didn-" Merlin began but was cut off by a large group of bandits pouring out of the woods with a loud war cry.

 **I'm sorry... Not. I just couldn't leave you with a satisfying end to a chapter. The more reviews I get the sooner I update (hint hint) I hope the length of this makes up for the cliffhanger. No? Ok, I'll just run now...**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the short chapter but hey I'm updating right? So I didn't plan this at first but then** StephanieStephanie **requested Merlin! Bamf! in this chapter sooooo TA-DA I hope you enjoy It! This chapter is detected to her for the idea! I accidently did Merlin! Whump! sorry...**

 **Disclaimer: I** **don't own Merlin…. yet. *whispers* I'm setting a trap hehehe**

"Ok, maybe I did." Merlin admitted as about 20 bandits poured out of the woods next to them. The Knights of Aria quickly circled protectively around Merlin, luckily the Knight of Camelot were too engaged in their own fight to notice. It turned out that the knights didn't really need his help this time, what with the Knights of Aria being present as well. Merlin mostly watched and occasionally made a bandit drop his weapon or something of the sort.

As Merlin watched Percival picked one bandit up and threw him into two others, making them collapse. Gwaine quickly jumped in and killed the three before they could get up. As Merlin watched three bandits ganged up on Owen as a fourth managed to slip past him, towards Merlin. The four had apparently realized Merlin was important and had devised a plan to get to him. Bad plan.

Before Merlin or the bandit could even make a move Sir Nathan came up behind him and tapped the bandit on the shoulder. When the bandit turned Sir Nathan grinned at him and then punched him square in the nose. The bandit went down hard and Sir Nathan was on him in a second. As he ran his sword through the bandit he bent down slightly.

"Don't touch my prince." he whispered as the bandits eyes drained of life.

But as Sir Nathan dispatched the first bandit another one slipped past him and snuck up on Merlin. He reached him just as Gwaine finished his current fight and turned to Merlin. The bandit's sword plunged into Merlin's side just as Gwaine reached him. Gwaine swung his sword down on the man's neck, but he was too late.

Merlin looked down at his side in shock as blood poured from the wound and all over his hands, which were desperately trying to stop his life blood from spilling out onto the ground. He fell from his saddle after a moment and he thought he heard a rib crack but ignored it.

Several cries rang out, most being "Merlin!" and one being "Sire!" from one of his knights but luckily it was drowned out by the cries of the others.

The other bandits were quickly dispatched and Sir Richard quickly ran over to his prince and began putting pressure on the wound. Sir Owen, seeing the wound became furious and started to run off after the fleeing bandits but was stopped by Nathan who grabbed his arm and shook his head. Owen seethed but nodded, ho wouldn't abandon his prince. To himself he silently vowed that if he ever saw one of them again he would drag them back to Aria in chains and make them beg for death.

The group of Knight surrounded Richard who was cursing and swearing as he put pressure on the wound. Merlin had passed out by now and Nathan could see a dark pool of blood spreading out from him.

"Get me a bandage!" Sir Richard yelled and, when no one moved he barked "NOW!" the Knights of Aira quickly moved to do so and, after several minutes the young prince was bandaged tightly. Blood slowly seeped throughout the pristine white bandage, blood spreading on it as if it were a rose blooming for the first time. The prince looked deathly pale and was already sweating.

Sir Richard then scooped Merlin up off the ground and stood, a look of determination on his face.

"There's a druid camp not far from here, we'll go there, they can heal him."

"No…" Merlin woke, protesting weakly "we-we can't.. not the druid, my secret-" he managed to get out weakly but Sir Richard stopped him.

"Si- Merlin" he said, catching himself. "we need to get you help."

"No, can't… druids know" he tried again weakly but passed out again from blood loss and went limp. Sir Richard's eyes filled with tears, his prince was dying.

Suddenly as if he _knew_ he was needed, a druid stepped out of the woods, he pouched his hood back, revealing an aging man with gray curly hair and startling green eyes. Sir Leon gasped and everyone turned to him.

"You!" Leon gasped out "you saved my life!" The druid nodded, not at all surprised at being recognized.

"Sir Leon," he said, his voice soft and kind as he nodded his head respectfully toward the First Knight of Camelot "I'm please to see you well." he then turned to Sir Richard "Come," he said, beckoning the group forward "I have a small camp set up, you can rest for the night and be on your was in the morning."

"But-" Sir Richard began again but was cut off by the druid.

"I will heal him, do not worry." He said, once again walking off towards the woods, clearly expecting the group to follow and then as if an after thought turned bad to them "I am Iseldir, Druid Cheiftan."

 **Hope you enjoyed, please please please review they feed my creative muse and the will to type more up!**


	10. Chapter 10

***peeks around corner* AH! *dodges tomato* I'M SORRY! *peeks again* EEP! *dodges watermelon* OH COME ON GU- WHAT THE- *dodges car*'IF I'M DEAD I CANT UPDATE *chrashing stops* ok no- *fails to dodge one last tomato* alright alright I'm soooooooooo story this took so long, soon after I last posted I flew down to Orlando to say goodbye to my grandpa, he passed away the day after Christmas, we actually flew back Christmas Day so we weren't there and it was really hard and then this is my Senior year in High School and my step mom has frontal temporal dementia so that's been an issue, I've kinda just stayed at my moms house but now that my step mom moved out (she moved in with her sister she just doesnt know how to a lot of stuff anymore) and I kinda need to help my dad around the house cause I'm he only one home and he has a bad back and will soon be going for a MAJOR back surgery. Oh! And I need to find a new home for my cats and say goodbye to them and well yeah, a bunch of stuff, so again sorry for not updating also sorry for that rant aaaaaaaannnnnnnnnyyyyyyywwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy it's a shortish chapter but at least I updated enjoy and please review!**

Sir Richard stood to the side as the druid quickly moved around the small tent gathering various herbs and putting them into a small bowl. The Knights of Camelot had objected to Richard being the one to stay in the tent with the prince but Iseldir insisted it be Richard for which he would always be grateful. The second Richard had set the young Prince down he had gently taken off his shirt and was shocked at what he saw.

All over the prince's chest and back were scars that looked to be from a variety of things, some could only be gained from torture others were stab or even spell wounds. The two biggest was one large circle that took up most of the prince's chest it looked to be some kind of burn mark. The second was on his back it was also large and round but the difference was that the center of it was red and splitting off from the center were tiny black lines going to the edge of the scar, there was only one thing that made a mark like that. Richard had seen it on many dying and dead men, no one survived it _no one._ It was a serket sting.

Richard stared at his Prince in shock for several minutes before getting angry and vowing that he would learn the story behind each and every scar and take any revenge he could. But for now he could only watch the druid work as he mashed all the herbs together to form a thick green paste and spread it on Merlin's wound. Richard watched with interest as Iseldir finished spreading the paste.

"Ahlúttre pá séocnes. Purhhæle bræd" he muttered, holding his hand over the wound and his eyes flashing gold. Richard watched as the wound started to seal closed, it didn't completely close though. "that is the most I can do for now, I am not as strong as others who have cast this spell." He said, picking up white bandages and wrapping them around the Prince's middle.

Richard finally decided to ask the question that had been at the forefront of his mind for sometime now.

"Why didn't the Prin- Merlin," he quickly corrected himself, you never knew who was listening "want to come to you? He said the druids know his secret. What secret? I can tell its something more than him being the Prince." Richard swore to himself slightly as he finished, he really hoped no one heard that. Iseldir looked at him with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"It's not my place to tell his secrets, ask your prince yourself when he wakes up, which should be tomorrow morning. Oh and don't worry there is a silencing charm around this tent." Richard relaxed slightly at the good news but furrowed his brow at Iseldir's answer. What secret would his prince be keeping from him? Still pondering this question he made his way out of the tent and motioned for Sir Owen to come talk to him.

"He'll be fine by morning but I want you to guard this tent until Nathan takes over. Got it?" Richard asked in a low voice, Owen nodded once before quickly moving in front of the tent, hand resting on his sword. The Camelot knights watched in confusion but said nothing. Richard then sat down at the campfire, accepting a bowl of soup from Sir Elyan.

"He'll be good to go by tomorrow morning." Richard answered to the question that everyone was thinking but no one was asking.

The rest of the night was quite and uneventful and the knights soon set up there beds for the night. The Knights of Aria on one side and the Knights of Camelot on the other.

Merlin groaned as light seeped in from the tent flap- wait- tent flap? Merlin sat up quickly and winced as he was made aware of the wound on his abdomen. He looks down at his bare chest and found thick white bandages wrapped around him. He made to try and stand but the flap suddenly opened and Iseldir walked in.

"Don't try and get up yet Emrys, your wound is still healing."

"Iseldir!" Merlin cried in joy. He quickly tried to remember what exactly led him to this situation and when he did he froze. Iseldir, seeing him starting to panic spoke again.

"Don't worry Emrys, I'm the only druid here, I have kept your secret safe." Merlin relaxed slightly. "there's something I need tell you before you leave Emrys" Merlin looked at him expectantly and Iseldir continued "In the next few months there will be a lot of trials but you must remember that you and Arthur must work together no matter what and you must stand together. One more thing, all is not as it seems with your uncle."

"What do you mean?" Merlin asked, furrowing his brow. Iseldir simply shook his head.

"That is all I know Emrys, I was told that by a soldier I found, he was severely wounded and the that was all I managed to gain from him before he died." Merlin, now propped up on his elbows nodded.

"ok, and Iseldir?" the druid turned as Merlin flashed one of his huge grins, "thank you" Iselder smiled back and nodded before exiting the tent, leaving Merlin alone to ponder what Iseldir's message could possibly mean.

 **oh and the spell in this chapter is he same spell used by Balinor to heal Arthur. Again sorry for the wait and the short chapter also sorry if Iseldir seems OOC**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry about the wait guys, I finally graduated and I just got a little stumped on what to write, will update soon. Enjoy!**

Richard watched the tent flap like a hawk, when he saw movement he immediately stood up but his shoulders drooped in slight disappointment. Iseldir looked at him in slight sympathy have before walking over to him, looking around before he spoke, Iselder spoke to the head Knight of Aria in a low voice.

"Your prince is awake and well, he will come out when he is ready." Iseldir smiled as he saw the relief wash over the man.

"Thank you" Richard said, his voice filled with gratitude and exhaustion. Iseldir simply smiled again and walked away.

Richard stared at the sky and breathed a sigh of relief, Leon came up to him a second later.

"How is he? And why were you told first? What is going on with you and him? You act as though you know him, You and the others protect him with your life's, who is he to you? And who are you to him?"

Richard stared at the knight in shock for a second before shaking himself and carefully answering.

"He is fine and should come out soon. I don't know why he told me first I was just the closest." Richard looked the Camelot knight that was looking back at him in suspicion in the eye and continued, "as to how I and the others are acting around him, he reminds us all of someone who we lost that was very dear to us. That's all nothing more." Richard only just managed to not flinch at the lies, he was a knight, he hated to lie but if it was necessary to protect his prince then so be it.

Leon scowled, obviously not completely convinced but nodded, accepting what the other knight said. Leon opened his mouth to say something else but what was interrupted by the sound of the tent flap moving again. Both of the head knights turned towards the sound and sighed in relief at the sight of Merlin coming out, grinning. He stepped out and winced slightly at the wound, he stumbled slightly as the blood loss hit him. Gwaine immediately came up and helped steady him. Merlin nodded at him in appreciation before standing up right again.

They both walked over to Merlin then and Leon spoke "how are you feeling Merlin?"

"never better" he said, one of his blinding grins lighting up his face but looking into his eyes Richard saw that something was bothering his prince, deciding to ask him later, Richard nodded and informed the young royal that the group was ready to leave. Merlin simply nodded and turned to Leon.

"I'm ready to go when you are" Leon nodded and walked off to finish saddling his horse.

Ten minutes later, after saying there farewells and thanks to the Druid the group started out again. Leon and Owen were in the front of the group. James and Thomas behind them. In the middle of the group rode Richard and Merlin, Gwaine and Percival behind them and Elyan and Nathan bringing up the rear.

As they road Richard and Merlin spoke softly to each other.

"were other knights really sent to all the kingdoms?" Merlin asked, curious if they knew he was in Camelot or if it was just luck.!

"yes" Richard answered simply, quickly elaborating under his prince's questioning gaze. "We had no way of knowing what kingdom you where in so we sent knights over most of Albion, _we_ came to Camelot because it seemed like the most likely place for you to go because of your Uncle Gaius. We also have Knights scouring the country side in search of you and your mother, speaking of which where is your mother if I may ask?"

"We fled to a small town in Cenred's, now Lot's kingdom, it's name is Ealdor, it's where my mother grew up." Merlin answered. Richard nodded.

"When we get to Aria we will send men out to bring her home." Richard replied, "We don't know where your father is however," Richard continued, not noticing Merlin shifting uncomfortably, "After the Kingdom was taken over the king was rumored dead, but he was only severely wounded and several of us managed to get him out of the city.

Once we got him out of the city we realized that the wound was very grave. The king was unconscious at this point and knowing that he wouldn't leave willingly and we had no time to waste he was immediately taken to a group of Druids for him to heal. That was the last we saw of him. When he didn't return we feared the worst and traveled to the camp, when we got there we found that it had been raided, there was one survivor who managed to tell us that Balinor had escaped but that's all he knew.

We have been searching for him ever since but he remained in hiding, possibly because he was still healing and could not make the journey, or-" Richard cut himself off and looked over to Merlin, who was avoiding his gaze, "Merlin?" He asked quietly "What is it?"

"My father-" his voice broke slightly as he choked on tears but he straightened up and coughed to clear his throat "My father is dead" he said, his voice strong. He turned to Richard. He had a stunned look on his face as if someone had slapped him across the fac

"The king is dead" he whispered softly as a tear came to his eye for his king and his oldest friend. He then looked to Merlin, "Long live the King."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Arthur sat in his study, thinking. He laughed slightly to himself to what Merlin would say if he heard that, the idiot would probably say something along the lines of him hurting himself by thinking too hard and the King would respond by chucking a goblet at the servants head.

For the past week and a half Arthur had been entertaining Queen Annis and was feeling exhausted. He had several piles of papers on his desk and something was nagging at the back of his mind but he didn't know what. It had started the day the Knights had left, like he was forgetting something, something about Aria, something important but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. His wife and queen, Guinivere was asleep in there bed already, she had been busy when the Knights of Aria had come and thus had not been at the meeting.

Sighing he stood up and made his way to his bed, as he fell asleep he decided to send George to the library and research Aria, maybe that would prove fruitful.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

That night Arthur had a strange dream. He was hunting in the woods with the Knights when suddenly the Knights disappeared and it was just him and Merlin in an empty white space. Nothing but white in all directions, then Merlin slowly faded away and in his place was a blinding white light and a voice spoke. It sounded more like thousands of voices all at once, men woman and children, boys and girls, young and old, the weak and the powerful, the loud and the quiet, it was overwhelming, but three voices stood out more than the rest. One sounded like a young woman, the second the voice of a mother and the third the voice of a crone. The each spoke in turn.

"Arthur Pendragon." The young maiden said.

"The time is coming." Said the woman.

"the time for change." The old crone finished.

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked.

"the time for peace." The young woman said

"a time of legends" the mother.

"and a time, for magic." Finished the crone.

Arthur tensed at the mention of magic "never! Magic is evil and will never have a place in Camelot!"

The three woman laughed, thousands of voices joining in.

"Tell me Arthur Pendragon, do you wish for your kingdom to thrive?" The young woman. Arthur looked confused but nodded.

"Then you must accept Magic." The mother replied.

"Otherwise Camelot will fall and burn, you along with it." Finished the old lady.

"Magic is nothing but evil!" Arthur yelled vehemently. "It has done nothing but harm me and my people time and time again!"

The maiden shook her head sadly "you are wrong young Pendragon."

"Magic has done more for you and your kingdom than you could ever imagine."

"And soon you will have a decision to make."

"either accept magic into your kingdom and heart" the young maiden said.

"and watch your kingdom florish" the mother took up.

"Or continue to deny it and watch your kingdom burn." The old crone said finally.

"Who are you?!" Arthur asked angrily and as one the three woman responded.

"We are the Triple Goddess, heed our warning young Pendragon or face the consequences."

With a blinding flash the white light disappeared and Arthur sat up in his bed gasping for breath.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys, I'm really really sorry it took so bloody long to update and I feel really bad but this summer I was working and I never made it to the library and my brother was visiting from Iowa and my dad had his surgery and I had to get ready for college so yeah, sorry. I will be updating again, I decided to break this into two chapters so hopefully y'all will have an update by tomorrow. Also anyone else read the Throne of Glass series? I finished Empire of Storms and just gggaaaaahhhhh!**

 **I don't own Merlin, sadly, but I am trying if anyone has any ideas for a trap to catch him? ah well, I'll think of something...**

"No, no no." Merlin objected, paling. "I-I'm not ready, I can't lead Aria, not yet, not alone, I-" Merlin rambled until Richard cut him off.

"yes, you can." he said, looking at him sternly "we will help you" Richard said, motioning to the other knights who were around them, laughing and talking amongst themselves "but first, you must tell the others." Merlin paled even more but nodded.

"Tonight we will talk with the knights while the Knights of Camelot sleep, I'll tell them then." Richard nodded and the two rode in silence.

 **-line break passing through-uuuhhh don't uh, don't look behind you-nevermind why just bloody don't-you know what stand up slowly, yes slowly, and just run-**

"Arthur?" came the gentle, concerned voice of his wife, and queen, Guinevere. "are you all right?" she asked softly and he stared blankly at her for a second before nodding.

"yes, yes" he said, breathing hard. "J-just a nightmare, that's all." right? it had to have been, it had to have just been a dream, but it was so realistic... Arthur shook his head before throwing off his covers and getting out of bed. Looking out the window he saw the sun just beginning to rise over the horizon.

"Arthur, where are you going?" He ran a hand over his face and sighed.

"I'm not sure, I just need to walk for a bit." He answered truthfully before quickly dressing himself, he might have made a joke about Merlin being wrong but he was wound too tight. Before he knew it he was walking through the castle halls, empty except for guards and servants preparing for the day. He didn't realize where he was heading until the library doors loomed in front of him. He sighed but pushed open the heavy oak doors and walked inside. Geoffry looked up curiously but his eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the king. He began to stand up to bow but Arthur waved him off.

"Is there something I can help you with Sire?" the old man asked, raising one eyebrow. Arthur thought for a minute, why _was_ he here? He hadn't planned on it, then, remembering what he had decided last night, he nodded.

"Where can I find books regarding the kingdoms and their history?" he asked, surprising Geoffry more.

"Any particular Kingdom sire?" he asked, curious.

"Aria."

 **-excuse me-just passing through-line break here-pardon me-oh sorry about that-didn't mean to hit you there-**

 **Leon POV**

As they set up camp that night Leon noticed that the Knights of Aria, besides Richard, seemed puzzled. Sir Richard, however, had a grieving look in his eye and he kept shooting glances at Merlin, which Leon definitely didn't like at all. When the Knights of Aria insisted on taking all the watches that night he became even more suspicious and decided to stay up to see what was happening.

Later that night, after everyone had settled in for the night and most of the others were asleep, Leon pretended to sleep as well. Just as he started thinking that perhaps he was as paranoid as Arthur always insisted and that nothing was wrong, Merlin stood up. He stood quickly and silently with the grace of a well trained knight, shocking Leon, because surely, Merlin, who was so clumsy he tripped over air, couldn't walk like that, yet he was. Merlin looked over at James, who was currently on watch and jerked his head towards the woods. James nodded in understanding and Merlin disappeared into the trees. A few seconds later James walked to the other Knights or Aria and nudged each before moving to the next, the knights got up so quietly, carefully, and quickly that Leon knew that they too had been feigning sleep. One by one they each disappeared into the trees in the direction Merlin went.

A minute after the last Knight of Aria slipped into the woods Leon stood and followed, being careful not to step on any branches. As he went farther into the woods he saw a flicker of fire and heard a low murmur of voices as he approached and the talking grew clearer as he neared.

 **Merlin POV**

When Merlin was sure all the Camelotians were asleep he stood and walked to the edge of the woods. He then turned to look at James and, catching his eye, jerked his head toward the woods, signalling that he was going and the others should follow. James nodded in understanding and Merlin slipped into the woods.

A few minutes later Merlin and his knights all sat around a fire he had built in a second clearing, not too far from the campsite but far enough away that they wouldn't be overheard. Merlin poked at the fire absently with a stick he had found nearby, his knights watching him expectantly. Richard simply watched, giving Merlin the time he needed to sort his thoughts out. When he still didn't talk they all looked at each other, a question in their eyes. Who was going to get the prince to start talking? Eventually all eyes landed on James who rolled his eyes but stepped up to the plate anyway.

"Merlin?" he asked cautiously, Merlin dragged his eyes away from the fire to look at James.

"hmm?" he gave James a questioning look, the knights exchanged concerned looks before silently urging James on.

"Well," he said carefully, "We were wondering what this is all about?" James asked, waving his hand to indicate the secret meeting. Merlin sighed before nodding and straightening up and squaring his shoulders before looking them all in the eye, one by one.

"There is something you need to know" he began, and the knights all listened attentively as Merlin told them the fate of their king. At the end of the story there was silence and tears gleamed in all of their eyes, Merlin spoke again after a few minutes.

"My father told me, before he died," his voice broke slightly but he pushed through. "he said that when he fled the druid camp his wound reopened and he had to remain in hiding because he was to weak too make it back, he had recently healed enough to make the journey, it took a long time without the proper medicines, and was about to make the journey but then- well, I told you the rest." Merlin finished, a tear rolling down his cheek. There was silence for a few minutes before James finally spoke.

"Then you are King." he said softly, Merlin opened his mouth to say something but there was a sudden snap of a branch and the Knights of Aria quickly stood, drawing their swords.

"Who's there?" Richard demanded "Show yourself" The Knights all turned toward the source of the noise as someone came out. It was Leon.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey! as promised another chapter, kinda short but that's ok I'm working on the next one as soon as I post this, with any luck it will be posted today or tomorrow. So I hope you enjoy this chapter and please please please review! they make me so happy!**

 **Also we have officially run out of what has been written so far, except for the flashbacks and one scene later on, another scene I have in my mind but it not written out. Actually I think I lost the first scene I wrote which is actually farther in but I wrote it first, weird right? anyway I luckily still remember it so that's all good, so I will write it down again either when I feel like it or when the time comes.**

Sir Leon listened in confusion as Merlin told the Knights of Aria the tale of the Great Dragon escaping and the search for the last dragon lord, albeit a different version then he had ever heard, and slowly put the pieces together. He was still confused though, Balinor had been a king? Merlin was his son? But that would mean-

"Then you are King" The voice of Sir James drifted to him, snapping him out of his thoughts and he stumbled back in surprise, breaking a branch. Leon swore soflty, his luck had been rather rotten lately it seemed. He prayed they might think it was just some animal but then he heard Sir Richards demand and sighed. He walked slowly into the small clearing and the Knights of Aria eyed him suspiciously and got closer to Merlin- Prince- or King Merlin, that sounded strange but somehow right at the same time, Leon thought as he walked forward.

The Knights of Aria all stood in front of Merlin protectively, swords drawn and pointed toward Leon, they obviously didn't trust him after what he had just overheard.

"Mer-" Leon began, eyeing the knights cautiously, before cutting himself off as he remembered what he had just overheard, his eyes widened as the full force of it hit him. Feeling as if it was the strangest thing he had ever done he _bowed_ to _Merlin_. Still in shock he started again "Sire-" Merlin quickly cut him off.

"No, no titles." he said simply and Leon looked at him, puzzled, but continued.

"Merlin." he looked at the Knights of Aria again, "I um, I think we may need to talk?" Merlin just sighed and nodded. "You're right but we may as well wake Elyan as well, he's the only one who doesn't know now." Seeing Leon's expression Merlin quickly explained, "Percival and Gwaine found out too, seperatly and on accident." Merlin shot a quick glare in Thomas's direction, who blushed slightly but offered no further explanation.

Fifteen minutes later the entire group was awake and sitting around the camp fire as Merlin once again told his story.

*begin flashback*

 _Merlin crashed through the woods, the world was spinning everything was going so fast, he had to get away, he had to get back to the city. As he ran the words of Sir Mathew rang in his head._

 _"What do you mean the kingdom has been taken?!" Merlin had cried and Sir Mathew looked down sadly._

 _"Your uncle took over last night, he attacked in the dead of night, the coward." He growled out angrily._

 _"My- My Uncle?" Merlin asked, dazed "no- no he wouldn't do that!" but even as he had said it he wasn't sure "would he?" he asked, his voice broken, looking toward his mother who nodded sadly and moved to hug him but Merlin scrambled away and stood, despite the sharp pain in his leg. "no," he said determinedly "no I don't believe it, I have to see father!" he cried, taking off running through the woods, towards the castle. He heard Sir Mathew swear and call after him before coming after him._

 _Merlin finally broke through the tree line and turned towards his home, he cried in horror at what he saw. smoke curled up from the lower town and citadel. He began running toward the citadel but two strong arms grabbed him and dragged him back into the woods. Merlin struggled in Sir Mathews grip, but the knight held tight, his grip hard enough that Merlin knew he would have bruises there later. Suddenly the knight dove into the bushes, dragging the young prince with him. Merlin tried to protest but the knight clapped a large, course hand over the boys mouth. Merlin watched with wide eyes as a patrol of guards wearing black and his uncle's crest, walked by. His eyes filled with tears as the truth finally set in and he stopped struggling._

 _A few minutes later when the patrol had passed. Sir Mathew took his hand away from Merlin's mouth and both stood. Merlin didn't protest as Sir Mathew led the way back to the small clearing. When they reached the camp Merlin made his way over to the opposite side of the other two and sat down. He pulled his knees to his chin and wrapped his arms around his legs, he then buried his face in his legs and sobbed._

*end flashback*

 **++++++++line break+++++++++line break passing through+++++++++ 'scuse me+++++++pardon me+++++++++++++**

Arthur stared at the dusty book in front of him in shock. After Geoffery had showed him where the books were and shown him several on Aria, he had left after once again asking if the king needed anything, Arthur had again said no, that that was all. He had flipped open the book and began looking, nothing unusual. But then he saw something that shocked him. After The Great Purge Aria had still embraced magic and their prince had it as well. The book stopped when it got to the part about the take over, only mentioning it before it ended, as if no one bothered to update it since then. He slammed the book closed and ran from the library. He had just sent his Knights to a kingdom with magic, it was a trap, it had to be.

He ran through the halls, by now the halls were filled with people, he ran towards where he knew Sir Bedivere was. A knight of the round table, and his head knight now that Leon and the others were gone. He slowed his pace, still brisk but not running, he didn't want people panicking. The people in the hallway parted for him, bowing or curtsying as he passed them. He didn't bother to respond.

When he finally reached the armory he threw the heavy oak door open and everyone in the room stopped. Knights in various states of Armor froze and stared at the King is shock before bowing quickly and waiting. Arthur searched the room, scanning. When his eyes landed on Bedivere he sighed in relief that the Knight was already in full armor.

"Sire?" The knight asked, looking for any injuries on the young king as he spoke. "Are you alright? has something happened?" Arthur shook his head.

"I'm fine but I need you to get the Knights of the Round Table to meet immediately as well as the council." the knight nodded in confusion, Arthur, seeing the confirmation, turned around again and stormed off, not waiting for the knights reply.

He had a war to prepare for.

 ***squeals in excitement* I know it was kinda evil to leave y'all off at that but I couldn't resist and it was just so perfect! Plus I will be updating again either today or tomorrow as said in the first AN. THank you for reading! please review and don't die!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Wow guys, longest chapter yet. So I hadn't planned on this being an entire chapter but it just kind of happened and well yeah anyway, next chapter Arthur meets with the council and the rest of his knight, will there be war? Mwa ha ha ha ha. Sorry to anyone who likes Elyan and thinks this is a little OOC, but to be fair he has only ever seen magic as evil, even Arthur has seen it used for good, so yeah. Hope you enjoy! Please Review, they mean so much! Will try and update tomorrow... hmm am I spoiling y'all?**

 **Don't own Merlin but I'm working on it! See:**

 ***Sets a spell book under a large box supported by a stick that has a string attached to it.***

 **Me: hehehe he will never realize its a trap..**

 **Merlin: REALLY? REALLY? How stupid do you think I am?! That is the most obvious trap I have ever seen!**

 **Arthur: Oh look, a book *Walks forward and picks it up***

 **Me: *shrugs and pulls the string***

 **Merlin: Really Arthur? REALLY? *begins crying in exasperation***

 **Arthur: WHAT? What is this sorcery! Release me at once! I am the King of Camelot! I demand you release me immediately**

 **Me: *looks to Merlin* He really is stupid isn't he?\**

 **Arthur: Hey!**

 **Merlin *Nods, to busy crying in exasperation***

 **Me: *Sigh* *releases Arthur because I hate seeing Merlin cry***

Elyan's hand wandered to the hilt of his sword as Merlin told his story. He wondered silently what the chances were of all of them getting out alive and realized they were slim to none if, what Merlin was saying was true. He looked around at his companions faces to see if any of them had connected the dots and realized Merlin probably had magic, he was shocked at what he saw. Leon was listening intently to Merlin's story and didn't seem to be worried about the boy killing them all with his magic. Percival and Gwaine were looking bored as if they had already heard the story but at the same time looking at Merlin sadly. Percival muttered something to Gwaine and smirked, Gwaine glared in response before handing the large knight several gold coins. Seeing Elyan's expression Gwaine just shrugged but upon seeing the knight's hand on his sword he tensed, hand flying to his own sword.

Elyan sighed in relief, at last, someone else had realized but, to his astonishment, Gwaine was watching _him_ wearily, as if _he_ was the threat, not Merlin. Suddenly Elyan realized that Merlin had fallen silent sometime ago, his story over. All eyes had turned to Leon and Elyan. Leon looked calm but his eyes held countless questions. Everyone tensed as they saw Elyan's angry expression and his hand on the hilt of his sword. Elyan finally drew his sword and stood up, everyone else immediately copying the action, besides Merlin. The Knights or Aria stood beside and in front of their king and Gwaine joined them. Percival and Leon seemed unsure as to what side to join, Percival, not wanting for anyone to get hurt sheathed his sword and walked forward arms out placatingly to both sides.

"Let's all calm down." The large knight said calmly, though no one bothered to do so.

"You have _magic._ " Elyan spit out, looking at Merlin accusingly, his eyes shining with anger and betrayal.

Merlin, his eyes filled with pain and guilt tried to walk forward but his knights blocked his way and Elyan pointed his sword at him. "Please Elyan I-" he started but Elyan cut him off.

"You are a _traitor_!" Elyan roared, lunging at him, The Knights of Aria immediately closed rank around Merlin, creating a solid wall of knights, Percival and Gwaine grabbed Elyan and held him back.

"Elyan, please I would never hurt any of you, or Camelot. I swear! I've only ever used magic for good, I've only used it for Arthur and Camelot. I'm your friend, please!" Merlin said pleadingly, eyes brimming with tears as he tried to shove through his knights, they didn't budge.

"Liar! You are nothing but a liar and a traitor!" Elyan roared, trying in vain to wrestle himself from his friends grips. "I will never be friends with a _sorcerer_!" He hissed, still glaring. Sir Owen growled and stepped forward slightly.

"Watch your tongue!" Sir Owen seethed, anger shining in his eyes he walked closer to the struggling knight "or I'll cut it out!"

"ENOUGH!" A voice roared and everyone turned in shock to see that the owner of the voice was Leon. Elyan glared at him and was about to retort but Leon cut him off with a sharp glare "I said enough. Fighting won't get us anywhere." Everyone looked at him is surprise, while it was not abnormal for Leon to be the peace keeper of the group, him not reacting to the magic was a surprise.

"you-You don't hate me?" Merlin asked, voice muffled behind the wall of knights that parted slightly so he could see the others. Leon shook his head.

"No- I don't know how I feel right now Merlin but- but I know I don't hate you." Merlin looked relieved, Elyan looked furious, everyone else was surprised. Leon didn't know whether or not to be insulted.

"He's right," Sir Richard said, stepping up and sheathing his sword "We need to talk, not yell." He said, looking at Elyan as he said the last part, Elyan just continued glaring.

"Fine." He bit out and Richard looked to Owen, the Knight of Aria locked in a glaring contest with Elyan, He squared his jaw and nodded before, reluctantly, sheathing his sword as well. Percival and Gwaine cautiously released Elyan who stayed in place for a moment before he too sheathed his sword. Merlin sighed a breath of relief as the other knights sheathed their weapons.

Slowly, carefully, Merlin made his way to the fire again sitting down and waiting for the others to join, Percival and Leon were the first to sit, followed by Richard and Gwaine and eventually everyone was seated except for Owen and Elyan. Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Sir Owen," he said, his voice holding a warning "stop glaring at Elyan and sit down." The knight gritted his teeth but obeyed, causing the Knights Of Camelot varying degrees of shock, knowing it and seeing it were different things. Elyan soon joined the group, glaring contest with Owen still going strong. Owen took it as a small victory when the Camelot Knight finally dragged his gaze to Merlin. Merlin was looking at Leon.

"Why aren't you angry? I mean Elyan is and Percival and Gwaine aren't from Camelot so it's wasn't too surprising when they didn't freak out, surprising but not too surprising. I expected you of all people, having grown-up under Uther's reign and being his head knight..." Merlin trailed off as he realized he was rambling. Expressions of faint amusement surrounded him, Elyan was looking confused, because surely this was an act? Sorcerers were evil, why was he still acting so, so, _Merlin_?

Leon studied the young warlock before answering.

"Because Merlin, you are they most gentle soul I have ever met. You won't even let Arthur kill rabbits." Everyone chuckled at that, even Elyan. "Also I have suspected that perhaps magic is not all evil since the druids saved my life with it. As well as the more and more I think about it the more sense it makes." he finished, shrugging. Elyan looked at him curiously.

"How does it make sense exactly?" He asked, half curious, half doubtful.

"Well, think about it," Leon said, motioning to the others "how the hell are we all alive? All the impossible situations we somehow miraculously survived, that Arthur survived. The bandits suddenly dropping their swords or tripping, the random falling branches. If Merlin has had Magic this entire time it makes since." he finished and Elyan looked contemplative.

"Is that true?" Elyan asked sharply, eyes going to Merlin, who nodded.

"Merlin?" Leon asked and all eyes turned to the blond knight "what ever happened to that immortal army?" Merlin blushed as everyone stared at him in surprise.

"You mean that was _you_?" Elyan asked, eyebrows raised. Merlin nodded.

"What about the questing beast? How did Arthur survive that? And whatever happened to Nimueh?" Leon began asking questions again, Merlin's face darkened at the mention of those and Richard made a note in his head to ask about that at some point before interrupting.

"Perhaps we should focus on other things" he said, cutting the knight off in the middle of another question, his prin-king sent him a grateful look. The other knight nodded, there would be time for questions later, hopefully. All eyes turned to Elyan and Merlin, the former looking at the latter contemplatively.

"If you've had Magic this entire time why did you come to Camelot of all places? Why save Arthur, a Pendragon?" Elyan asked, voicing the question that was in Leon's head as well.

"My magic was getting too strong and I couldn't control it anymore, my mother sent me to Camelot hoping that Gaius could help me control it." He said, shrugging as he finished, Elyan nodded. Elyan perked up as if a thought occured to him.

"Are you the one that saved my father's life during that plague?" Merlin shifted uncomfortably but nodded. Realisation dawned on Leon's face and then anger and finally, embarrassment.

"But that means... that you're Dragoon!" Gwaine shouted excitedly, a grin lighting his face. Merlin nodded, grinning slightly.

"But Dragoon killed Uther." Elyan said accusingly and everyone tensed, Merlin simply looked sad.

"I didn't mean to, I was trying to save him but Agravaine found out and-" Merlin shook his head before continuing, his face darkening "Morgana made a charm that reversed the effects of my spell ten fold and Agravaine put it around Uther's neck, I didn't see it until it was too late. I'm sorry, I tried to save him but I couldn't and I destroyed any chance of Arthur excepting Magic." Everyone fell silent until Leon spoke again.

"Merlin?" he asked, anger and embarrassment lining his voice? "Wer- were you the old man we saw in the woods that day?" Embarrassment at the entire thing making him blush, the sly grin that spread across the young mans face was answer enough as Leon groaned and Gwaine choked on the water he was drinking, Elyan and Percival both went an alarming shade or red as the Knights of Aria looked at them all in confusion.

"Wha-?" Began Sir Thomas, but was cut off by a groaned "Don't ask" from Leon who was still blushing furiously. Merlin looked ready to tell them but a glare from Leon shut him up, though his eyes twinkled mischievously.

A few minutes later, The Knights of Camelot seemed to recover from the embarrassment and Richard spoke.

"We should be on our way soon." He said, looking at the sun that was slowly rising. The others nodded and everyone began packing, the conversation apparently over. Merlin looked over at Elyan as said knight stared at the young king before finally nodding, he would still come to Aria, he would still fight, but, perhaps most important, he excepted Merlin.


	15. Chapter 15

**Don't hate me, please don't, it just kinda happened I swear. Before you read this I need to warn you I WILL kill off characters if I feel like it, I know what you're thinking "oh but she wouldn't kill off _" oh but I will, even Merlin and Arthur are not safe their is only one character who will not die, no matter what and that is Gwaine, everyone else is free game to me. So please review they mean a lot, Also 91 Reviews so far yay! come on guys lets get this up to 100! Anyway, Enjoy and please don't hate me *laughs evilly***

 **Merlin: What do you mean you'll kill me and Arthur?! Why is Gwaine the only one that's safe?!**

 **Me: *shrugs* Gwaine is amazing and awesome and I love him.**

 **Gwaine: *grins cockily***

 **Arthur &Merlin: *glare at Gwaine and I***

Arthur sat in his chair at the Round Table, Guinevere on his left, in the end he had decided to have all of the knights come to the meeting instead of just the round table and the Council. The knights had respectfully not sat until the council members were seated. Still most of the knights remained standing. Arthur looked to the painfully empty four seats to his right where the original Knights of the Round Table sat. No one had dared sit in their seats and if one of the younger knights seemed to be wandering over to claim one a sharp glare from the King or a muttered word from an older knight stopped him. Once everyone was there, taking a deep breath, not entirely sure how to tell them the news, he began.

"As I am sure you are all aware," Arthur said, drawing all eyes to him and silencing any conversation "two weeks ago a small party arrived from the kingdom of Aria and requested my assistance in winning back their kingdom." Confused nods, "I recently learned however that Aria is a kingdom that embraces magic." everyone in the room tensed at the words "and I believe that it was a trap to get me to Aria, perhaps for revenge, perhaps to hold me hostage for ransom I'm not sure" he continued, anger flaring in his eyes as well as in the knights throughout the room. Gaius looked extremely pale but Arthur dismissed it. "Although I was unable to aid them myself, my most trusted knights Sirs Leon, Percival, Elyan, and Gwaine went with them. I fear that Aria may try to take them as hostage or simply kill them." He said darkly, Gwen gasped beside him as tears filled her eyes and the council members looked pale, the knights simply looked furious. "I have called you all here because I plan to go and retrieve my knights, no matter the cost. I also feel this is an act of war, if I am correct in my thoughts." He finished, sitting back in his chair slightly. Arguing immediately broke out between the council members, Gaius remained silent, still and pale as death.

"Sire," Gaius said softly and silence fell so everyone could hear what the physician had to say. "I do not believe that Aria wishes any harm to the knights, I believe they were truthful in what they said." Arthur stared at him for a few minutes, contemplating what he said.

"Perhaps you are right Gaius," the old man seemed to sag in relief, until Arthur continued "however, I can not take the chance that you are wrong. In three days I am going to travel to Aria to retrieve my knights, whatever knight wishes to come to help me rescue our brothers-in-arms are welcome to join me." The knights in the room immediately straightened, Arthur looked each of them in the eye, each nodding their agreement to come.

"What is your plan once you reach Aria sire?" Geoffrey asked, the librarian looking worried. "Surely you can not hope to win against a kingdom of magic with the knights alone, not that I doubt the knights ability but against so many you can not hope to win." Arthur nodded.

"You are right of course, I plan to send a message to Aria, demanding the safe return of my knights, should they refuse or the knights are harmed I will send word back to Camelot and the armies of Camelot will march on Aria."

 **VVVVVLine break passing throughVVVVVVVVV'scuse meVVVVVVVVVpardon meVVVVVVsorry, almost through**

Merlin's grin was so wide Richard wondered if it was hurting him. Twenty minutes ago they had finally crossed into Aria and upon Richard's announcement of the fact the young man's face had lit up and was staying that way. Thomas had outright laughed at the expression on the young king's face, his eyes alight with joy that they had succesfully returned home with the long lost prince, now king.

As they rode Merlin told the others of how, exactly, Percival had found out Merlin's secret and the entire group began laughing, much to Thomas's embarrassment. Thomas had quickly changed the subject by asking what exactly the others had been talking about when they mentioned the old man in the woods. The Camelot knights had quickly shut up at that, a red tint coming to their cheeks. This only furthered the others curiosity, Merlin had pretended to be reluctant to tell the story but after they pestered him some he gleefully told the story of how he had defeated the best knights in the realm while disguised as an old man. At the end of the story the Knights of Aria were howling with laughter as the Knights of Camelot either blushed or glared at Merlin angrily.

The Knights of Aria tensed after a time, watching the surrounding woods cautiously, the Knights of Camelot did the same and Merlin looked to Richard in confusion.

"Your Uncle's men have been rumored to attack travelers on this road." The older knight quickly explained and the Merlin's face darkened in anger.

"Surely they wouldn't attack such a large group? Especially when we are all knights, save Merlin that is." Leon asked, glancing apologetically at Merlin who shrugged. Richard shook his head.

"With Merlin with us they may risk it," He said, still scanning the woods "also, do not under estimate my kings skill with a sword, before he had to flee he was quite skilled." Merlin blushed slightly and the Knights of Camelot stared at Richard as if he had hit his head.

"Merlin?!" Gwaine asked, laughing "Merlin couldn't even lift a sword, let alone wield one!" the other Knights of Camelot nodded in agreement while Merlin glared at Gwaine, his eyes flashing gold, though Gwaine was to busy laughing to notice. The rest of the group watched in various degrees of amusement as the rowdy knight's hair turned a bright pink. When Gwaine had finished laughing he looked at the others, who were barely holding back their laughter, in confusion.

"Wha-" He began but he narrowed his eyes when they landed on a smirking Merlin. "Merlin?" He asked slowly, "What did you do?" Merlin simply continued to smirk as the others finally let their laughter loose, even Leon and Elyan were laughing. Percival roared in laughter before taking pity on his friend and motioning to his hair. Gwaine grabbed one of the locks and stared at it in shock and horror, making everyone laugh even harder.

"Merlin, change it back!" Gwaine whined. Merlin opened his mouth to reply but froze and whirled around toward the trees. Everyone else quickly sobered and drew their swords, eyes scanning the woods.

"Sire?" Richard asked, worried. Merlin shook his head.

"I thought I heard something. I must have imagined it." even as he said it men began pouring out of the woods, swords drawn, some shouting spells, their eyes glowing gold.

 **Merlin POV**

Merlin had been about to reply to the rowdy knight when he suddenly felt his magic perk up, he froze and quickly scanned the woods. He saw nothing but his magic was still warning him about something, itching to be released. The second after he tried to reassure himself and the others his magic flared as men began pouring out of the woods. The men bore his uncle's crest, Merlin's fury rose and his magic practically screamed to be released. Before he could even think of what to do one of the sorcerers shouted a spell that Merlin knew was meant to kill, he watched in horror as it flew at Richard, who was beside him, sword drawn and ready to protect his king with his life. The spell hit Richard and Merlin roared in anger and fear, his magic finally breaking free to reek havoc.


	16. Chapter 16

**To XxPAoAxX yes, yes I do. I enjoy it very much. MWAHAHAHAHA**

 **Alright guys here's the next chapter, please review. Also sorry about the spelling errors and stuff I don't have time to fix it right now because the library is closing.**

Merlin's magic swirled around him as Richard fell to the ground, his body limp. Eyes glowing gold in fury Merlin looked to the sorcerer who had cast the deadly spell. The man's eyes widened in fear at the look in the warlocks eyes. Merlin's eyes flashed gold and the man went flying back, his head hitting a tree with a sickening crack. He then turned to the rest of the attacking group.

About twenty men were attacking, five or six of them were using magic. Out of the corner of his eye Merlin saw a spear flying towards Elyan, he quickly froze it before sending it into the heart of the man who had thrown it. Percival was currently fighting off two men and when a third came up behind him Merlin sent him flying. When Percival finished the other two he sent a nod of thanks to Merlin, he didn't bother acknowledge him.

" _Scildan_!" Merlin hollered, throwing his arm out toward Richard as a bandit tried to finish him off, He then flung his arm out to the bandit " _Forbærne! Ácwele!_ " the warlock chanted, sending a ball of flame at the man.

A flash of his eyes had the rest of the attackers freezing in place, one 6 were still alive, the knights having taken care of the rest. One of the still mobile sorcerers shouted in the old religion and a ball of flame hurtled toward Merlin, Merlin lifted his hand and batted it away as if it were a fly. The sorcerer stared at him in wonder and horror.

"Wha-" he asked, frozen in his fear as Merlin approached him, a terrifying expression on his face.

"Tell my dear Uncle that I have returned." He said, glaring down at the man, raising his voice so everyone could hear. "Tell him that Merlin Ambrosius has returned and that if he values his life he will leave this kingdom and never return. That applies to all of you, I will show you mercy today but if I ever see any of you again, you will not walk away." He finished darkly, releasing the men from his spell. The second the sorcerer felt the enchantment lift he scrambled to his feet before fleeing into the woods, not daring to look behind him, the others quickly followed suit. When the last man disappeared Merlin turned around and ran to Richards side.

"Sire," Thomas began "That was-"

But Merlin didn't hear him, he was too busy assessing Richard. The older Knight's breaths were short and ragged, Merlin knew he might have a broken rib from the fall but the spell was the most worrying thing. The spell itself wasn't meant to kill instantly, but to cause the victim pain as they died. Merlin knew that the spell had been meant for him and if Richard hadn't put himself in front of Merlin it would be him lying on the ground right now. Richard's face was contorted in pain as the spell took effect. Merlin held his hand over the knights forehead and muttered a quick healing spell, his eyes flashing gold once more. It wouldn't be enough to save him, Merlin knew, but it would keep the spell at bay long enough for him to do what was needed.

 **Richard POV**

Pain, agonizing, indescribable, unending, pain. That was all there was, he couldn't think, couldn't see, and couldn't hear. The pain coursing through every inch of his body was the only thing. He felt like he was floating and the only thought that reached him was that he was grateful to have saved his young king from this. He wondered briefly if this was what serket stings were like. No, he decided, this was worse, much much worse. Suddenly the pain eased slightly as a golden warmth filled him. He heard voices around him but they seemed far away. The pain once again overwhelmed him and there was nothing else. Just the pain.

 **Merlin POV**

After casting the spell Merlin quickly turned towards Owen.

"Help me pick him up." He commanded, and the worried knight immediately moved forward to do so. Between the two of them the managed to lift the older knight onto Merlin's horse, the warlock quickly mounting the horse. The others quickly mounted their own horses and Thomas tied Richard's reigns to his saddle. Merlin took off at an agonizingly slow pace so as not to jostle the knight and went into the woods, confused mutters sounded behind him but he ignored them.

"Sire," Thomas said, worry lining his voice, Merlin didn't bother fusing at him for the title "we need to get out of here, they may come back with reinforcements." Merlin shook his head.

"Don't worry, they won't." he said darkly.

"How do you know?" Leon asked, worry and confusion filling his voice.

"Because," Merlin said simply "They have a message to deliver." No one said anything else as they continued on into the woods. Merlin finally halted the horses as they came to a large clearing.

"Wait here," he said, sliding off his horse and gently pulling Richard off, Owen moved to dismount to help the king but Merlin shook his head "I've got it." he said simply, Owen looked doubtful but obeyed anyway. Merlin cast a quick enchantment and Richard floated in the air behind him, following him as he walked into the ignored the amazed look on the faces of the others. Lying Richard down gently on the edge of the clearing Merlin looked to the sky and roared in dragon tongue.

" _O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd'hup'anankes!_ "The rest of the group stepped back slightly at the guttural noise and the overwhelming power in it. A few minutes later there was a the sound of giant wings flapping and Kilgharrah appeared, his golden hide glinting is the sun. Leon watched in horror and quickly drew his sword, he was the only one though, everyone else was staring at the beast in awe.

"Kilgharrah," Merlin greeted, as the Great Dragon landed, the Knights of Aria's jaws dropped open, it would have been quite an amusing sight if the situation wasn't so dire. "I need your help."

"So I gathered," the dragon said dryly, seeing Merlin's expression Kilgharrah turned serious "What is it you need Young Warlock?"

Merlin pointed to Richard, who was lying on the grass between the two. "I need you to heal him, I can't I don't know a healing spell powerful enough." The dragon looked at the knight wearily.

"I do not know if it is wise to heal him Merlin." The dragon answered wearily.

"Why not?" Merlin asked sharply, his voice dangerous. Kilgharrah's eyes filled with sadness.

"Because young warlock, many more will die in this war before it is over, you cannot save everyone, you need to learn to accept that. If that means that he," the Great Dragon said, nodding his large head to the prone knight "dies, then that may be the price."

"You think I don't know that?!" Merlin roared angrily, surprising everyone, even Kilgharrah "You think I don't know that people will die in this war? You think I don't know that I can't save everyone?" tears were now streaming down the dragon lords face "You think I have not lost loved ones already because of this stupid destiny?! I lost Will, my father, and Freya! Do not DARE tell me that I have not lost loved ones, do not _dare_ insiuate that I don't know that I can't save everyone. You're right though, I can't save everyone, but I can try my hardest. Starting with him, because I will _not_ lose him, not now, not like this, he _will_ see Aria again. I will not allow him to die when I just got him back!" Merlin was breathing heavily when he was finished with his rant, face still streaming with tears. Kilgharrah looked at him sadly but turned to the knight before him, and loosed a breath on him. The magic took effect immediately as the older knights face cleared and the tension left his body. Merlin looked at the Great Dragon. "thank you." he said, his voice hoarse, Kilgharrah simply bowed his head to the young dragon lord before taking off, his giant wings lifting him off the ground and beating Merlin down with the wind they created. A groan from in front of him had Merlin look away from the disappearing dragon and drop to his knees beside his knight.

"Sire?" Richard asked weakly, Merlin's face broke into a large grin.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey again, new chapter! yay! I wasn't gonna update tonight cause it's kinda late but I promised JoannaSBlack so yeah, here it is! Sorry if there are spelling errors, It's 10:00 PM and I really got to get back to my dorm. Wow guys, longest chapter so far, over 2k words, YES! Enjoy!**

Richard blinked up at his king in confusion. Hadn't he just been dying? Yes, he decided, he had definitely been dying. That pain couldn't have been anything less.

"Sire?" he asked, cringing slightly at how rough his voice sounded. The grin that lit the young man's face was contagious; Richard found himself giving him a weak smile in return. He tried to sit up, but Merlin quickly pushed him down again.

"Don't get up," the young king commanded, "you're still healing." indeed he was, The pain still lingered slightly and it hurt to breathe, telling him he most likely had a cracked rib.

"What happened?" he asked, his head pounding. Then, remembering the battle, he sat up quickly, ignoring the pain that shot through him, yep definitely a cracked rib or two. "Are you alright sire? Are you injured?" he asked, running a critical eye over his sovereign. Merlin rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"I'm fine Richard," he answered, ignoring the title, Richard always was one for propriety and now that the rest of the group was aware of Merlin's status he knew Richard would call him by his title whether he liked it or not. "how are you feeling?" he asked, his brow furrowing in worry.

"I'm fine, what of the others?" he asked, trying to look beyond the young king.

"They are fine as well," Richard breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that the others were indeed unharmed. They were all looking at the sky with expressions varying from ones of awe and wonder to fear and anger.

"Sire?" he asked his voice full of confusion, "what exactly happened?" the young warlock's grin fell from his face and his expression darkened slightly.

"I'll tell you while I'm binding that rib," he negotiated, motioning to the older knight's side, Richard sighed but nodded reluctantly. Merlin smiled in the satisfaction that he won, Richard just rolled his eyes. "but first I have to help the others set up camp." Richard nodded again and watched as his king walked over to the others, looking apprehensive. Looking at the small group, Richard quickly realized why, Sir Leon's expression was one of anger and his sword was drawn, the look was directed at Richard's king, sending a wave of panic through the knight. Ignoring the pain once again, Richard swiftly stood and drew sword.

"Sire!" he called, slightly panicked, he was relieved when he saw that the other Knights of Aria had noticed the situation as well and quickly positioned themselves between the head Knight of Camelot and their king, swords drawn. The young king looked back at him in surprise.

"Sit down Richard, all is well." he said calmly, Richard was about to say that, no, everything was _not_ well when he saw the command in his King's eyes to back down. He reluctently did so but kept his sword drawn.

 **MERLIN POV**

Merlin sighed, this wasn't going to be easy, he had feared Leon's reaction when he saw Kilgharrah but with Richard so close to death... He hadn't had a choice, and if he had to he would do it again. As he drew closer to Leon he rolled his eyes at his knights standing between him and Leon.

"Stand down." he ordered and when they didn't immediately obey he said calmly "I can handle this now _stand. down._ " He said the last two words in a voice that left no room for argument. His knights reluctantly obeyed but kept their swords out. "Leon," he began holding his hands out in a placating gesture but was cut off by the said knight.

"What the _Hell_ was that?!" The blond knight raged, he didn't give the warlock a chance to answer "You said he was dead, that _beast_ killed people, citizens of Camelot, Knights!" Leon's eyes widened in surprise as he realized something "You let it lose didn't you?" he whispered softly, Merlin's expression was answer enough "YOU LET IT LOOSE." he raged "IT KILLED PEOPLE, CITIZENS, INNOCENT PEOPLE AND YOU LET IT LOOSE." he roared, waving his sword in the direction the the great dragon had disappeared.

"I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE!" Merlin raged back, surprising everyone.

"Yes you did, and you decided to let that monster loose." Leon said, anger fueling him.

"NO, I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE, I HAD TO FREE HIM!" Merlin's voice quieted slightly but he was still loud and his voice was still filled with anger. "I didn't have a choice because he made me swear to release him in return for his help, and if I hadn't done so Nimueh and the Knights of Medhir would have succeeded ! So yes, I freed him, because that was the price of saving everyone else. He made me swear on my mother's life and I had no choice." everyone was staring at him in astonishment now. "and if you think I don't know that those deaths are on MY head, if you think that I haven't blamed myself for each and every life that was taken then you are WRONG!" his voice broke slightly and a few tears rolled down his cheeks, he continued, his voice softer now "I think about them everyday, I will never forget them and I will never forgive myself for letting Kilgharrah free but I had no choice. So hate me all you want but I did what I did for a reason as for him attacking?" Merlin laughed bitterly at this "his kind was butchered around him, and he was the last one! Uther imprisoned him for 20 years, so yes, he took revenge, I can't say I blame him to be honest, after all," he said bitterly "I know how it feels to be the last of my kind. So hate me if you want Leon, but don't you _dare_ tell me I had a choice." He finished, anger filling him. He breathed heavily for several minutes before finally shoving his way past the stunned Leon to get to his saddle bag and grabbing the bandages for Richard.

"We're camping here for tonight." he said to no one in particular, leaving no room for argument, not that anyone was able to reply, they were all still too stunned to move. He walked over to the wounded knight who quietly sat down and took off his chainmail and armor before taking his tunic off as well. Merlin frowned at the scars litering the knights body but began binding his ribs. The others finally seemed to recover and silently went about setting up the camp for the night. As Merlin bound Richard's ribs he told the older knight all that had happened. When he was finished Sir Richard looked at him in shock.

"Sire that is amazing power." he said, awed. Merlin blushed and waved him off.

"it was nothing." he muttered, this seemed to be the wrong to say as Gwaine came up behind him.

"You call that _nothing_?!" Gwaine asked, shocked. The rouge knight laughed "Well mate, I'm not sure I want to see what you call something." he said, clapping a hand on his friends back. Merlin glared playfully at him and Richard spoke.

"Are you sure it was a wise idea to let the men go sire?" he asked, and the young king turned to him, his face serious again and nodded.

"Yes, my uncle would have found out soon anyway and I believe sending a warning was the right thing to do, besides," he said, finishing binding the knight's ribs and standing "if I know my uncle those men won't be alive much longer."

 **VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV-line break passing through-VVVVVVVVVVVVVV-hey! What was that for?!-VVVVVVVVVVVVV- I'm almost through geesh-VVVVVVVVVVVVV**

The man's voice shook as he reported to the king.

"Y-your Majesty." he said, kneeling before him, along with his five companions. "W-we fought are hardest b-but they overtook us a-and-" then man was cut off by the cruel voice of the false king.

"Where is my nephew?" he asked in voice that promised pain if they answered wrong. One of the men whimpered slightly.

"W-well that's the th-thing your Majesty," The leader of the group stuttered. "H-he defeated us and the killed the others and- and-" he looked up at the man and shuddered at the look in his eye "H-he gave us a message to deliver t-to you your Majesty." The false king waved his hand, motioning for him to continue. "H-he said," the man swallowed thickly. "he said that if you wish to live y-you will leave this kingdom a-and never return. A-and th-that the s-same goes f-for us, th-that he was of-offering us m-mercy a-and t-that if we saw h-him again he wouldn't sp-spare us again." He finished, shaking harder than before. He dared a glance at his king and immediately regretted it, the look on his liege's face was one of pure anger, hatred, and cruelty.

"You should have fought him, you are a coward for running." The false king snarled. The leader shook his head in denial.

"N-no your Majesty-" he was cut off by the cruel man.

"Silence." he ordered and the man obeyed "I have no use for cowards in my court," he sneered at the shaking before him "Feed them to the beasts." he ordered and the man looked up in fear and shock, several crying out in protest as the guards started to drag them away.

"Please your Majesty!" called one "Anything, anything but that, please!" but the man was quickly silenced by a punch from one of the guards.

"Be sure to gag them and bind their hands." the king drawled, bored. "We don't want the beasts harmed again." The guards shuddered slightly, the last men that had been fed to the beasts had been unbound and had harmed one of king had been so furious that he ordered the guards who had been in charge of the doomed men to be flogged and put in the cage themselves.

The king watched in disinterest as the man were dragged out of site and the doors slammed closed.

"so," he said, speaking to the only other in the room. "It appears that our young king has returned." he said, resting his chin on his hand, with his elbow resting on the throne he was on.

"It appears so my lord." came a voice from the shadows. The false king nodded.

"You know what to do." he said, waving his hand in dismissal.

"Indeed I do your Majesty." the voice said, before the owner left the room, leaving through a back door, still in the shadows. When he was the only one in the room smirked evilly to himself.

"Soon, dear nephew, we shall meet again." He chuckled darkly to himself as he leaned back in his throne.

 **VVVVVVVVVVVVV-line break-VVVVVVVVVVVVVV- if you don't like violence don't read this next part-VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV-*evil laugh*-VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV**

The man shook in fear as the guards bound his hands behind him.

"please." he whimpered slightly, staring at the giant cage in front of him in fear, a gag was quickly shoved in his mouth and tied behind his head, he looked to his companions, all of whom were bound similarly. He looked at the guard pleadingly but the only answer he got was to be shoved closer to the cage.

One of the guards walked forward and began unlocking the cage and the man began to shake violently as well as shaking his head, tears flying and trying his best to plead through the gag. He was ignored. He watched in horror as his companions were thrown in the cage one by one, he was the last and the heavy iron door slammed closed behind him. He stared into the darkness in horror as three giant sets of eyes peered out. His scream was muffled by the gag as one of the beasts lunged and the blood of the man next to him sprayed all over him and his face. The beasts eyes turned to him.

 **Hope you enjoyed and sorry if you think Leon was OOC but I think he might have reacted like that cause he lost people he cared about when Kilgharrah was attacking, so yeah.**


	18. Chapter 18

***Pokes head out from wall* EEP *Dodges cabbage* Uuuhhhh *Looks again* *Dodges three more cabbages* *Hides* *Looks again* *Dodges cart of cabbages* *voice in background*: "MY CABBAGES!" *holds out white flag* *Slowly creeps out* He-hey guys! B-been awhile *pulls at shir collar nervously* So- uh- how you been? *Dodges tomato* Right well, explanation time I suppose. First of all I am so so so so so so so so so so so so sooooooo sorry that it took me so long to update. College happened and I got busy and met new friends and got busy not to mention my writers block. I got my first BF! Although we broke up after a month… aaannnnyyyway. Very sorry, also my sister is to thank for this update as she actually pushed me to write again yay sister! I hope y'all enjoy and please review, will start working on next chapter ASAP!**

Richard lay on his bedroll with his chest bare as his king held his hands over his ribs and whispered several words in the Old Religion, his eyes flashing gold, as he finished the pain in Richard's ribs immediately subsided and he sighed in relief. The young warlock then picked up a roll of bandages and began winding around his chest, binding the ribs.

"Quite the collection of scars," Merlin said semi-casually as he continued in the knight's treatment.

"I could say the same to you sire," Richard said, looking at the king cautiously. The young royal tensed. "I saw them when the druid was treating you, I was the only one" The Knight reassured him. Merlin nodded, relaxing slightly but still tense. "In fact, I believe that you have even more than me," he said, trying to press for information but not sure how to. Merlin hummed slightly but said nothing, after he finished binding the knights ribs he stood up.

"Don't move too much, hopefully, you'll be able to ride again in a couple days, I want to get to Aria as soon as possible, so don't get up without my permission." He ordered, turning to go.

"Sire..." the head knight said hesitantly. Merlin looked back at him, his eyes flashing a warning. Richard sighed inwardly, he would have to pry answers out of the king some other time. "Thank you for caring for me," he said, instead of what he really wanted to. Merlin's eyes softened slightly and he nodded, grinning at the fallen knight as if everything was perfect, even though his eyes held a different story.

"My pleasure Richard, tell me if you need anything else." he then turned and walked away, not giving the knight a chance to ask further questions about his scars. He watched as the king walked over to his own bed role in the center of the camp and put his supplies away before standing and walking towards the woods. Richard sighed as he watched the king walk away.

It had been two days since Leon and Merlin's fight, two days since he was healed by The Great Dragon, and two days since those soldiers had fled to the false king. Two days of sitting and waiting and Richard was highly aware that every second they wasted here was another second that Merlin's uncle knew he was back and vulnerable, the sooner they got to Aria the better. But they were stuck here, because of him, he had tried to tell Merlin that he was perfectly fine and could ride but the young man was having none of it. He sighed again as he laid his head on the ground, obeying the order to not move too much. He was silently debating just getting up and getting everyone to pack up camp while the king was away when Thomas walked up hesitantly. Richard looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?" The knight hesitated before sitting next to him.

"There's something you need to know." The knight said, obviously worried. Richard sat up, ignoring the pain that shot through his ribs.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice deadly serious.

"The other night when I accidentally revealed the pri- King to Sir Percival." The knight stopped, looking guilty, Richard motioned for him to continue. "Well afterwards when he Sir Percival and Sir Gwaine were talking, Percival mentioned something." The knight hesitated for another second before pushing forward "he mentioned that during the Doracha attack that Merlin should have died and that he'd realized then that he had magic, otherwise he wouldn't have survived. I... questioned the p-king about it and he said that-that it wasn't the first or last time he had almost died and that it wasn't the worst either." Richard was already pale at this point and when Thomas continued he felt like he was going to be sick. "It was also mentioned that he had once traveled to the perilous lands." Richard was silent for a long minute before shakily asking.

"H-he said he survived a Doracha attack? and that he had been in worse situations?" Thomas nodded. Richard simply stared at him in shock for a minute. He had heard of the dorocha, no one ever survived their touch, magic or not. Perhaps Thomas had heard wrong? Yes, that had to be it. "Ask Sir Percival to come here, I need to talk to him." He said, still pale. Thomas nodded and stood up, going to look for the large knight. A few minutes later he returned, Percival in tow.

"How are you feeling?" Percival questioned, sitting next to him. Richard had propped himself up against a tree, Percival leaned against another tree nearby.

"Better," Richard replied, wanting to get to the reason that he had Percival come over in the first place. "However I need to ask you something." The large knight looked at him cautiously, and Richard plowed ahead. "Thomas was telling me about the night that you discovered the truth about Merlin, and everything that was said." Richard paused, trying to figure out the best way to ask his question. "Did the Pri-King" Richard caught himself, it was hard to remember that Merlin was king sometimes, doubly hard to accept, not because he did not think that Merlin would make a good king but because it meant that Balinor was well and truly dead. He sighed slightly to himself before continuing. "Did the king truly get attacked by Dorocha? Did the Dorocha actually touch him." Percival nodded. "Tell me everything." And so Percival did.

He told him about how Arthur and Merlin had been collecting firewood when the Dorocha had attacked again. He told him about how they got cornered in a room and Merlin jumped in front of the Dorocha to save Arthur, how afterward Merlin was only just barely alive but had begged not to be sent back to Camelot but Lancelot had taken him anyway. He then finished the story by telling Richard about Merlin's miraculous recovery and return. The entire time Richard listened with rapt attention and didn't say a word. When Percival was done telling the story Richard simply stared at him for a minute before speaking.

"So Merlin was not only touched by the Dorocha but it went straight through his heart?" The large Knight of Camelot nodded. "I see," he murmured, thinking. "Thank you, Percival, I thought that perhaps Thomas had misheard but apparently not." Percival shrugged.

"I figured he survived because of his magic." he said, obviously confused. Richard nodded.

"I guess so" he lied, Percival didn't need to know what he did, not until he figured out what was going on. Percival left soon after they stopped talking telling him to ask if he needed anything, Richard had nodded but said nothing, too busy thinking.

There was something his King wasn't telling him and that bothered him, how could he have survived the Dorocha? and the Serket? Not to mention the burn on his chest, that certainly looked like it should have killed him, why did he not want to see the druids? even when he was dying, what secret could possibly be so important? How did the druids know that secret? How had the young warlock gotten all those scars? What else wasn't the young royal telling him? Richard pondered these questions late into the night, eventually giving up and going to sleep, letting the soft crackling of the fire soothe him into a deep sleep.

 **-Line break hereVVVVVVVVVVVVV it's been awhileVVVVVVVV how are youVVVVVVVVV Good good, glad to hear it VVVVV Oh. I'm managing VVVVVVV well it was nice catching up, gotta go now. See ya!VVVVVVVV**

Merlin was wondering around in the woods, collecting herbs. In truth he already had plenty of herbs, he was simply avoiding Leon, as he had been for the past several days. As he bent down to pick one particularly rare herb he heard a snap of a branch and stood up, spinning around, hand ready to throw magic at whatever was attacking him. Gwaine stood there, an amused expression on his face, Merlin relaxed and put his hand down.

"Don't sneak up on me like that." He glowered but after a second it disappeared and was replaced by a wicked grin. "Well since you're out here anyway now you can help me collect herbs." Gwaine groaned in response.

"Don't you think you have enough herbs by now? You've been collecting them for two days now." Gwaine was silent for a second while he bent down and picked a plant of the ground. "Is this a herb?" he questioned, bringing it to his face and sniffing. Merlin burst out laughing before speaking.

"Gwaine that's stinging nettle." Gwaine looked at it in alarm and dropped the plant on the ground, grateful for his gloves. And then his face started itching a few seconds later from where the plant had touched his face he reached up to scratch at his face but Merlin called out before he could. "No wait, that'll only make is worse, help me look for jewelweed, that will help, it's a purple flower." He said, deciding to simplify it so that Gwaine can look for it without a complicated description that he would likely forget as soon as he heard. After a few minutes, Gwaine made an 'a-ha' sound and Merlin turned to see him bending down to pick a purple flower from the ground. Merlin's eyes widened in fear as he recognized the plant.

"No wait," he cried, stopping Gwaine from picking the flower, his now ungloved hand inches away from touching it. "that's Corncockle, it's deadly, don't touch it." Gwaine quickly withdrew his hand in alarm "on second thought don't touch anything I'll find it." Merlin said, breathing a sigh of relief. Gwaine glared.

"Will everything out here kill me or cause some horrible side effect." Merlin considered for a second.

"No," he finally replied, making Gwaine relax slightly "just most of it." Merlin finished with a grin, making Gwaine glare at him again. After a few more minutes of searching Merlin found the plant and walked back to Gwaine. He then put the plant on a large rock and got a smaller rock, about the size of a fist and ground the flower to a pulp before scooping it into one hand and motioning for Gwaine to come forward. As he spread the plant on Gwaine's rash the knight looked relieved before speaking.

"Thank you Merlin" the man just nodded silently, Gwaine spoke again after a second or two of silence "you can't keep avoiding Leon you know. You have to talk to him some time" Merlin sighed, he had been expecting this and was surprised it had taken so long for Gwaine to bring it up, though stinging nettle can be a bit distracting. He finished rubbing the plant on Gwaine's rash and began walking away not wanting to discuss it, but Gwaine ran after him and put a hand on his shoulder, turning him around to face him.

"Mate, you can't just ignore him, he's your friend" Merlin snorted doubtfully but Gwaine pushed on "I know you're angry and I know you think he hates you." The roguish knight said, addressing the real reason Merlin was refusing to speak to Leon. Merlin looked at him sadly opening his mouth to speak but

Gwaine cut him off. "He doesn't hate you Merlin, and he IS your friend just as you are his, you both need to talk about it. Otherwise, you'll never get past it." The knight declared in a rare moment of wisdom. Merlin stared at him in shock, Gwaine rarely passed out GOOD advice. After a minute of thinking about what Gwaine had said, Merlin sagged and nodded sadly.

"I suppose you are right Gwaine, I can't just keep avoiding him." Merlin sighed and ran a hand over his face before grinning weakly at his friend. "Thank you Gwaine. I'll try and talk to him tomorrow." Gwaine grinned at him and clapped him on the shoulder as they both began walking back to the camp, laughing and chatting as they walked, Merlin making fun of the knight for his apparent curse with nature. Eventually, the reached the large clearing that they had set up camp in and the two separated, Merlin going to check on his head knight and Gwaine to take his watch.

Merlin walked to where he knew Richard was a smiled to himself when he saw the older knight sleeping. Though his smile faded when he saw the worried expression on the older man's face. Merlin made a mental note to ask Richard what had him looking so worried before walking to his own bedroll and laying down. He looked to the stars as he drifted off and wondered what Arthur was doing at that moment, and silently prayed to the triple goddess to keep him safe.

 **VVVVVVVV Hello againVVVVVVVV'scuse meVVVVVVVVVVpardon meVVVVVVVVVVV This is almost overVVVVVVVV Aaaaannnnndddd there!VVVVVV**

Arthur sighed in frustration, he had been in council meetings all day discussing the potential war on Aria, battle plans, and what losses to expect. Unfortunately, with Aria having magic the losses could be detrimental and many of the counselors were telling him to give up but he refused. He would figure something out, he had to, there was no way he was abandoning his knights. He finally reached his chambers and nodded at the guards before quietly slipping into his rooms, hoping not to wake Guinevere, unfortunately she was already awake and was sitting on the bed reading a book, waiting for him.

"Arthur" she called when he walked in and Arthur sighed, he was too tired to discuss anything else that night. Nonetheless, he turned to his wife and looked at her expectantly. "Perhaps you are being too rash about this, surely the Knights of Aria don't mean any harm, they only asked for aid in protecting their kingdom and finding their prince. It is not as if they demanded the return of magic in Camelot." Arthur sighed and shook his head.

"If that was true then they should have told me about the magic in their kingdom, no this was deceit and I fear what their true plans are for my knights. I refuse to stand by idly while my knights are walking into a trap!" He declared before walking over to his drawers and pulling out his night clothes.

"They likely feared your reaction to the truth, if you were them would you have told the full truth?"

"Yes!" Arthur said, coming out from behind his changing screen, now in his night clothes. "and had they told me the truth I would have sent them away, nothing else. Now, however, they _will_ pay." He finished darkly.

"Art-" His wife began but the young King cut her off.

"I and my knights are leaving for Aria in the morning. It is already decided. If Aria releases my knights unharmed then I will leave peacefully, if not…. Then we will have war."


	19. Chapter 19

**Wow guys my chapters keep getting bigger and bigger this one is 3670 words! YAY! Might be a while before I can update again I am going camping this weekend so I won't have my laptop to write with. Have a good weekend guys and enjoy the chapter! Also please review they mean so much to me and my heart leaps in my chest everytime I get a new one! Thank you all so much!**

 **P.S. I need some names for knights and lords, give me some names and I may use them! Descriptions are welcome to!**

When Leon woke the next morning, he was the first to do so. He walked over to where Percival was keeping watch quietly, trying not to wake the others.

"Morning" he greeted the large knight. The quiet man just nodded in response. Leon was piling firewood onto the fire when Percival suddenly broke the silence.

"You should talk to him" Leon tensed.

"What do you mean?" he asked, feigning ignorance. Percival huffed as he sat across from the blond knight.

"I _mean_ that believe it or not, you two are friends and that while I know you feel like you hate him, you don't. You're just angry at him. And while I wasn't there that day and I don't know what you went through I can tell you this: from what Merlin said it truly does sound like he had no choice, and while that doesn't excuse what happened maybe it can lead you to forgive him. Fighting won't get us anywhere" Percival said, stealing Leon's own words from when Elyan first found out that Merlin had magic. "and revenge will take you to dark places, trust me on that friend." Leon looked at him in shock, he wasn't sure if he had ever heard Percival say that much at once, he also silently wondered at the last part of his speech. More than that, he was right. Somewhere along the way, Merlin had become more than Arthur's servant, he wasn't sure when, but at some point, Merlin had become a friend; not to mention like a little brother to all the Knights of Camelot and in his anger, he had forgotten that. Leon sighed as he sat on a log, giving up on starting a fire.

"You're right," he said, running a hand through his locks "and I don't hate him I just-I just lost a lot of friends that day, I forgot that he lost friends that day too."

"I still shouldn't have yelled at you," a voice said from behind him and Leon whirled around to see Merlin standing there looking sorrowful.

"Merlin I-" Leon began but Merlin cut him off.

"I shouldn't have yelled at you Leon, you have every right to hate me."

"I don't hate you, Merlin," Leon quickly said, "I just, I let my anger take control for a minute and, and I am sorry." Merlin shook his head, walking to sit over next to Percival so that he was facing Leon.

"There is nothing that you should be apologizing for, you were justified in your reaction. It is I who should apologize to you. I am sorry for yelling and I am sorry for what happened that day. I meant what I said, not a day goes by that I do not think about the people who have died because of me" He said sadly.

Leon decided to let the conversation end and simply nodded before changing the subject.

"So, when do you think Richard will be well enough to ride again?" he asked, anxious to finally reach Aria. Merlin pondered a minute.

"Depending on how he is feeling I think we can go today" he answered.

"Today it is then," a new voice said and the three turned to see Richard walking towards them, looking healthy and without pain. Merlin nodded.

"Very well, but if you at any point feel the need to stop tell us," he said, a warning in his voice. Richard nodded his consent. "All right, then I suppose we should pack up camp" Merlin declared, rising to do just that.

"Um, Merlin" Leon interrupted "As eager as I am to get going don't you think we should eat breakfast first." Merlin blushed before answering.

"Yes, um I suppose so."

 **VVVVVVVVV- I'm BAAACCCCKKKK! -VVVVVVVVVV-Line Break is awesome Line break is awesome-VVVVVVVV-DO THE LINE BREAK DANCE-VVVVVVV (AN: I am very sorry; the line break is very drunk right now)VVVVVV**

 ***Richard's POV***

Richard rode at the front of the group, his king riding beside him chatting happily. He smiled at the man's constant chatter, it certainly helped distract him from the pain in his ribs. While Merlin's magic had done wonders in helping his ribs heal faster he was still in a good amount of pain, not that his king needed to know that of course, it would only worry him. Besides, he was eager to reach Aria as soon as possible, They were supposed to have been back by now and the sooner they got to Aria the safer his young king would be. Unfortunately, they still wouldn't reach the city until at least late afternoon of the next day. If they kept a good pace that night however they would reach the small village of Tassi where they had a small inn that would hopefully be able to hold the group.

"We should reach the village of Tassi by dusk tonight hopefully the inn there can hold us all, especially if we double up." Richard said, voicing his thoughts, interrupting his king mid-sentence.

"Very well, but I would like to keep my identity a secret from the villagers there" Merlin agreed. Richard nodded.

"If not by your true name, what do you want us to call you?" he asked, worried that someone would slip up and let the young royal's identity slip.

Merlin considered for a moment "Myrddin, that way if you start to say Merlin you can easily change it." Richard nodded and Merlin fell back so he could tell the others the plan.

A few hours before they reached the village Merlin turned to the Camelot Knights, his face full of concern.

"You four should take off your capes. If anyone in the village recognizes you as Knights of Camelot they may panic." Leon scowled and the others simply frowned.

"With all due respect, Merlin, we will keep our capes on" Leon replies, visibly upset "To deny who we are and where we are from is a cowards move" He stated simply, not realizing who he had just said that too until it was too late. Immediately he felt bad upon seeing Merlin's sad and slightly hurt expression "Merlin I didn-" He tried to say but Merlin cut him off with a sad smile.

"It's fine Leon, I expected for you to say something of the like, don't worry." He said, his voice carrying a note of pain in it. He turned forward and urged his horse on, ending the conversation.

When they finally reached the village after a long day of riding they were all exhausted and hungry. All of them wanting to eat and go to bed, this was making tensions run high and everyone was frustrated and tense.

They rode up to the inn and after a minute of discussion, it was decided that the Knights of Aria would go in first as they were more likely to be welcomed, while the Camelotian Knights stayed outside with the horses.

The five knights entered the inn and the inn keeper looked up, his expression turned into one of shock at the sight of so many knights.

"Good evening," Richard greeted kindly, "We were hoping to get some rooms for the night, we have five more companions outside as well"

"Good evening sirs" the man greeted back "I only have five rooms at the moment so you would have to share, but you are more than welcome to stay here." Richard nodded.

"Sharing will not be a problem though I should warn you, four of our companions are Knights of Camelot, they are here as friends so I trust that it will not be a problem." He said, his voice allowing no argument. Normally he would be kinder but at the moment he was exhausted and the sooner he got to sleep the better. The Inn keeper's expression was now one of fear and Richard felt guilty so he spoke again. "We will also be wanting dinner and breakfast, _we will pay whatever is needed_." He emphasized the last part, implying that he would pay extra for the rooms. The man seemed to debate for a minute before finally nodding in agreement.

"All right, but I don't want any trouble." He said, his voice wary.

"I give you my word as a Knight of Aria no harm will come to you or anyone in your inn." The man relaxed, the word of a knight carried a lot of weight.

"Out of curiosity who is the last of your party?" the man asked, worry in his voice. Richard cursed himself for disrespecting his king as he answered.

"He is a servant." Richard inwardly cringed but didn't allow it to show on his face.

Meanwhile, outside of the inn, the Knights of Camelot along with Merlin waited, the villagers that had seen them had practically run away in fear and it was beginning to get on their nerves. Already tense and tired from riding all day now almost all of them were scowling.

Across the street, one of the villagers watched the group nervously, his wife at his side.

"Are there more inside?" she asked her voice filled with fear. The man looked at the five rider-less horses and shook his head.

"I-I don't know, probably." He said his voice filled with worry "I think they're headed to the capital" His wife looked at him in fear.

"Oh! Do you really think so? What could such a large party be going to the capital for?" She asked, wringing her hands.

"I don't know but whatever it is it can't be good. Someone has to send them a warning." He replied, his voice filling with steely determination.

"Don't!" his wife cried, realizing what he planned to do. He turned to her sadly before kissing her head lightly. "I have to love, it's the only way to get a warning to the capital in time. She nodded sadly and he went to retrieve his horse, he was one of the few villagers that had a horse that could go the distance he needed it too and swiftly. He would have to use magic to give him and his horse more energy of course and though it may kill him from using the much at once, he had to try. Before he left he picked up his daughter from where she had been playing and hugged her kissing her on the head before leaving, determined to save his daughter from the fate of so many during the great purge. As he left the young girl conjured a flame and giggled as it danced on her hand.

 **-Merlin POV-**

Merlin breathed a sigh of relief when Richard finally emerged from the inn, grateful that the group could now escape the looks of fear and hate.

"They only have five rooms so we have to double up but it's only for one night." Richard reported walking over to lead his and Merlin's horse to the stables. Merlin glared at him.

"I am perfectly capable of taking my own horse to the stables." He pouted. Richard just smirked at him and took the reins of his horse. "Where are the others?" he asked, giving up as he dismounted his horse. The Knights of Camelot all grabbed one of the others horses as they lead them to the stables.

"They are checking the inn and our rooms for any dangers." Richard replied Merlin rolled his eyes as he walked beside the head knight but said nothing.

Later when they were sitting at the tables in the inn eating the stew the innkeeper had prepared they began discussing sleeping arrangements.

"The twins can share a room, Nathan and Owen can share another." Richard said as he pulled a spoonful of stew towards himself. Leon spoke up next.

"Elyan and I can share a room and Percival and Gwaine can share." He said. Merlin nodded.

"Which leaves me and Richard sharing a room." He said, taking a sip of his ale. Once everyone was agreed on rooms and the food was eaten the group sat and chatted while drinking ale. Owen and Gwaine were chatting and both were on their fourth ale while everyone else was on their first or second. The twins were chatting away with Leon and Elyan about fighting technics while Percival and Nathan had an arm wrestling contest, Percival was winning, for the third time. Merlin sipped his drink as he sat next to Richard both silently watching the group. He smiled at the sight of all his friends getting along and laughing, it made him happier than they could know. After a while, he turned to Richard.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, referring to his injured ribs.

"A little sore but nothing serious." The older man replied. Merlin narrowed his eyes.

"You're lying." He accused, the large knight shifted uncomfortably.

"It's nothing I can't handle." He said, shrugging.

"I'll change your bandages once we get to the room." He said, ending the conversation there. After several minutes of silence, he sighed "We should all go to bed, it's getting late and we need an early start tomorrow." Richard nodded in agreement and soon the group headed to their various rooms, everyone happy to finally be getting some sleep.

"We should have someone keep watch." Richard frowned as they went up the stairs to their room. Merlin shook his head, yawning.

"There's no point whoever we put on watch would fall asleep. Besides we're safe here" when Richard still looked doubtful Merlin spoke again "if it will make you feel better I will put an alarm charm up, that way if anyone passes a certain threshold my magic will alert me." Richard nodded to this plan. When they reached the corridor that the rooms were in Merlin chanted in the Old Religion and as he did so he felt the magic well up inside of him, eager to get out. When he was finished his eyes flashed gold and a shimmering barrier appeared at the edges of the corridor. "There, now if anyone tries to come through this hall I will be alerted." Richard nodded in satisfaction and the two entered the room they were sharing.

Merlin looked at the single bed and decided to give Richard the bed but before he could voice his decision Richard spoke.

"You take the bed, I'll sleep on the floor." He said moving to lay his bed roll on the ground. Merlin shook his head.

"That's not fair, you take the bed, I'll take the floor."

"It is perfectly fair, you are the king, besides," he said, raising an eyebrow at Merlin "how is me taking the bed and you on the floor any fairer than me taking the floor and you taking the bed." Merlin frowned but then remembered something and grinned.

"Well, I'm supposed to be the servant, right? Therefore, I should be taking the floor while the gallant Knight gets the bed." He said, smirking at his own cleverness. Richard scowled.

"You may be playing the servant in front of the villagers but not in here, you are sleeping on the bed, either that or I will leave the room all together and take watch." Richard threatened. Merlin frowned, knowing he had lost the fight.

"Fine." He grumbled, fully aware that Richard really would leave the room just to get Merlin to sleep on the bed. Richard smiled.

vvvvvvvvvv – shhhh- vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv- oh my head-vvvvvvvv ( **AN: *smugly* that's what you get for getting drunk last night)** vvvvvv ow! Don't talk so loudly vvvvvvv **(AN: IF YOU DON'T WANT A HANGOVER DON'T GET DRUNK!)** vvvvvvvv line break: *glares* vvvvvv **(AN: How are you glaring? Hell, how did you even get drunk? You're a line break!)** vvvvv

Early the next morning as the sun began peeking up the villager that had taken off the night before finally reached the capital of Aria. As he arrived at the city gates, he and his horse exhausted the two knights at the entrance eyed him warily.

"I need to get in." he panted, afraid that he would pass out before he could get his message to the castle, he had used up all his magic energy and feared the coming backlash.

"What is so urgent that it cannot wait until the city gates open?" The knight asked, a hand on his sword. The man shook his head.

"I cannot tell you, I have to speak to the head knight." He could not just tell anyone, he had to make sure it reached the right ears. The knight shook his head.

"Our head knight has gone on a mission, you will have to tell me or be on your way." The man huffed in frustration but told him anyway.

"I hail from a small village a day's ride from here, the village of Tassi, A group of knights rode in last night, a group of Camelot knights." The blue clad knight paled and turned to his companion.

"Get Sir Robert." He said and the other nodded before running off. The knight turned back to the peasant. "Come with me." He said, leading him towards the gate and motioning for the gate keeper to open the gates. The knight led the man through the quiet city to the castle. The man stared at the majestic castle in awe. It was made of white stone that looked orange in the early morning. The castle was massive and very well fortified, the fact that the false king had managed to take it was purely because of the unexpected betrayal of one so well trusted. That the Knights had managed to take it back was a miracle. He was snapped out of his reverie by the Knight's rough voice.

"Dismount and come with me, your horse will be cared for." The villager hadn't even realized that they had entered past the castle gates and were now standing in an impressive court yard, obeyed the order and before he could properly look around the court yard the knight began walking and he had to hurry to catch up. As they entered the castle he caught glimpses of giant, gorgeously woven tapestries, each one telling a story, large statues, and magnificent paintings. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to gawk at them as the knight lead him through what seemed to be a maze of hallways and to two huge ornately carved wood doors. Two soldiers stood guard outside the room, the knight nodded to them as he walked forward and rapped on the door. A second later a voice called to enter and the two guards pulled the doors open, straining under the weight. The man was nervously wringing his hands as he walked in behind the knight and bowed deeply when he saw the knight bowing.

In the room was a large table, carved of beautiful red wood and finally crafted, in the seats were a group of men some old some younger, all of them looking angry at being awoken at this early hour. Several knights stood around the room as well and at the end of the large table, two seats sat empty. One was the largest seat there, trimmed in gold and decorated with dragons carved into the side one on either side, their heads facing upwards as they breathed fire. The fire curled up to create the head rest of the chair and the dragon's tails created the arm rests, the chair was altogether breath taking, obviously built for a king. The other chair was to the right of the throne-like chair and looked similar to the others except on the sides of it was a beautifully carved sword, this chair was likely meant for a warrior, maybe the head knight, the villager wasn't sure.

"Why were we woken up this early?" one of the older council members asked, glaring at the knight.

"Forgive me, my lord. This man comes from the village of Tassi and brings urgent news." The knight said, bowing again.

"Well? What is the news?" another, younger councilor asked haughtily. All eyes turned expectantly to the villager and he swallowed before telling his tale. When he was done, there was silence, finally after several minutes one of the councilors spoke.

"You said that five of the horses had no riders and that they were likely inside the inn correct?" he asked, turning to the villager again, he nodded his confirmation. The councilor turned back to the others. "it is possible that Sir Richard has finally returned and is bringing aid, and perhaps the fifth man that wasn't wearing armor is the prince." He said wisely but another councilor objected.

"It is more likely that Sir Richard's request angered King Arthur and they were taken prisoner, he is late after all. These Camelot Knights are likely coming to demand ransom, as for the man with them? He is probably either an ambassador or a servant." Arguing broke out among the councilors until finally one of the knights who was standing to the side stepped in. The man had dirty blond hair that was cut rather short, bits of his hair were turning gray but he still looked fierce as he stepped forward, several council members fell silent to hear what he had to say the others continued to argue.

"My lords." He said loudly, his voice calm but commanding attention. The villager was shocked when the councilors began to fall silent one by one and look at him expectantly. "I believe that we should prepare for the worst. Lord Gransley is right, it is most likely that Camelot is planning to attack or demanding ransom. However, I doubt that Richard and the others we sent are even alive. My advice is that we stop them before they reach the capital." He finished, looking at the councilors expectantly.

"And how do you propose we do that Sir Robert?" the councilor who had spoken first asked.

"Give me three dozen men and some knights I will handle it."


	20. Chapter 20

**Alright I'm back again! Ok first let me just say if you have never been to the Grand Canyon you should go, if you have been go again. Pictures do not do it justice and a couple of the viewing sites have places you can hike down into it and it is so much fun, make sure you bring plenty of water and sunscreen though. I didn't know skin could turn that color from a sunburn… I look like Neapolitan ice cream cause I am burned, pale where my tank top covered and then just tan, it's pretty amusing to be honest. ANYWAY! One scence in a few chapters was written while I was watching the sunset over the Grand Canyon! SO new chapter, I would like to give a shout out to all the wonderful people who reviewed my last chapter and especially to Leana Nas and JoanneSBlack for names for knights and lords! Enjoy!**

When Merlin woke the next morning, he looked over to see the slumbering form of Sir Richard on the floor. He smiled to himself as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and made his way to the door. He would be surprised that he was able to sneak past Richard if it weren't for the years of practice he had from sneaking through the castle in Camelot and through the woods. He slipped out the door and soon found himself sitting at the table that the group had eaten as last night. He was soon lost in thought and was only shaken from his thoughts when Richard sat down next to him.

"Good morning." He said cheerfully. Richard frowned at him.

"Why are you up this early? And how did you get out of the room without waking me?" he asked, concern written on his face.

"I guess I'm just used to waking up this early to get the clot-pole his breakfast before I wake him, he's gets grumpy when he doesn't eat. I do hope George is feeding him properly." Merlin worried, Richard interrupted him.

"And how did you get out of the room without waking me?" he repeated his question.

"I suppose I'm just quiet enough, I've had plenty of practice after all." He said, shrugging. Before Richard could ask when he had this practice Percival came down and greeted the two with a silent nod as he sat at the table, he was quickly followed by a slightly hungover Gwaine. Richard sighed as he filed his question away with the rest of the things he needed to ask Merlin. Soon the entire group was sitting around the table, both Owen and Gwaine slightly hungover, only slightly even though they had both ended at 8 tankards of ale last night. They would have kept going but Richard had put his foot down saying that they had a long day in the morning.

The Inn keeper brought their food over and hesitated, seeing unsure of himself.

"What is it?" Richard asked, eyeing the man warily.

"Sorry sir, I was just, well I was just wondering." The man seemed nervous as the group all turned their eyes to him. "Well you see we're just a small village and only a day's ride away from the city, so we hear lots of rumors you see and well I was wondering, well really the whole village is wondering- "

"Out with it." Growled Owen and the man gulped before continuing.

"I – er we wanted to know if the rumors are true," he blurted out, everyone looked at him in confusion "is the prince really returning? Are you all one of the groups that went to search for him?" he asked, eagerly. Merlin paled and Richard's face turned to stone, Owen glared at the man and the others simply forced their faces to go expressionless.

"That is a matter of state," Richard said coldly. "If there is an announcement to the public then I am sure you will hear of it. Thank you for your hospitality but I believe it is time for us to take our leave." He finished, rising from his seat as the others did the same.

The group quickly packed what they had brought and saddled the horses, no one spoke as they left the small village behind.

 **VVVVVVVVVVVV LINE BREAK VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV LINE BREAK VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV DOES ANYONE READ THESE? VVVVVVVVVVVVV**

When George quietly and gently woke Arthur the next day he and Guinevere got ready in silence, George helped him into his armor and after securing the cape around his shoulders, asked if the young king needed anything else and upon hearing that no he was fine left. Arthur stood there awkwardly for a minute while trying to decide what to say.

"If Merlin returns while I'm gone tell him I said to aid Gaius in whatever he needs until I return." He said, deciding to avoid the heavy conversation. Guinevere looked at him in confusion.

"Wait, wouldn't he be returning with you and the Knights?" Arthur looked at her, confused.

"No, he's gone to Ealdor to help Hunith, she fell ill a few weeks ago." Arthur said, a feeling of dread growing in his stomach, Guinevere frowned.

"Are you sure? I received a letter from Hunith just yesterday, she's doing quite well and asked if Merlin was eating enough. I assumed Merlin went to Aria with the knights." She said, worried.

"But he told me that- "Arthur cut himself off as realization dawned on his face, his face turned stormy. "I'm going to kill him." He growled.

"Now Arthur" Gwen said, trying to placate the blond. "I'm sure he just wanted to help."

"It's not his place to help" Arthur growled. "And he lied to me, I'm going to throw him in the stocks for a month for this." He said, grabbing his sword, suddenly there was a knock at the door that cut off Gwen who was no doubt about to say something in Merlin's defense. Arthur opened the door and saw Sir Bedivere standing there, fully armored and ready to go.

"Sire," he said bowing "The horses are saddled and the men are waiting for you." He reported.

"I'll be there in just a minute." He said, dismissing the knight, Bedivere nodded before bowing to Guinevere and then leaving.

"I have to go," he said, turning to his wife. She nodded gently.

"Just be careful Arthur, and give Merlin a chance to explain." She said walking over to him. He nodded before pulling her into a hug and giving her a deep kiss on the lips.

"I love you." He said softly as he pulled her in and rested his chin on her head.

"I love you too." She replied, turning her head so she was resting against Arthur's chest. They stood like that for several seconds before finally Arthur pulled away and the two walked out of their room to the courtyard. When they got to the courtyard he kissed her gently on the lips. He turned and walked down the steps before mounting his horse that one of his knights had been holding steady. Twenty of his best knights were mounted around the courtyard waiting for Arthur's signal. As he turned his horse towards the gates he glanced back one more time and looked at Gwen. He smiled in pride at her, standing there surrounded by knights, she looked like a queen, Arthur knew she would be fine if something happened to him. With this thought in mind he turned and unknowingly began the most life changing quest he had ever faced.

 **VVVVVVVVV LINE BREAK VVVVVVVVVVVV YAWN VVVVVVVVVVV LINE BREAK VVVVVVVVVVV SHOULD I CONTINUE DOING AMUSING LINE BREAKS? VVVVVVVVVV**

 ***Merlin POV***

As the group got closer and closer to their destination Merlin watched as Richard began to look increasingly worried and tense.

"What's wrong?" Merlin asked, urging his horse forward so it was in pace with the older man. Richard shook his head.

"It's strange," he replied, "We haven't run into any patrols yet, normally we would have by now." Merlin frowned as well.

"Do you think we're in danger?"

"Perhaps, we should be on guard just in case" Merlin nodded before chuckling.

"You're always on guard Richard" The Knight smiled weakly back, telling Merlin that he was extremely worried. "I'll tell the others, I'm sure we'll be fine." He reassured, Richard simply nodded silently, eyes once again going over the terrain to check for any danger. Merlin let his horse fall behind and began telling the others to stay on guard. Finally, Merlin was riding next to Gwaine in the back and began chatting next to him, soon enough it turned into tavern stories from Gwaine and the two were laughing uproariously. As evening drew closer the temperature began dropping and Merlin pulled a cloak from his bag and wrapped it around himself, pulling up his hood for added warmth.

The closer they got to Aria the quieter Merlin became, he reminded the others to address him as a prince not as a king once they reached the city so that no one knew of Balinor's death until he was ready to tell them. After spreading that message Merlin pulled his signet ring out of his pocket and stared at it. He had carried this precious ring with him for the past ten years, now it was finally time to wear it again. He slipped the ring onto his hand and it glowed as it refitted itself to his now larger fingers. He smiled slightly as the charm on the ring worked, the ring was made so that he would never outgrow it and it could always adjust to the size of his finger.

Other than reminding the others to not let the secret of his father's death slip Merlin mostly remained silent, nervous about the upcoming conversations and events. Gwaine eventually got tired of Merlin being quiet and began telling Merlin more of his tavern stories, making the young Warlock forget his worries and soon the two were laughing and swapping stories and jokes. After some time everyone but Richard had joined in and laughter filled the air as stories, jokes, and pranks were swapped.

 ***Robert POV***

Sir Robert crouched in the bushes, waiting for the Camelot knights to arrive to the trap he had set. Suddenly there was a tapping on his shoulder and he whirled around to see the scout he had sent to survey the group. The man was red from running but looked panicked.

"What is it?" he asked, worried.

"Sir." The man panted. "It's not just Knights of Camelot, Sir Richard and his men are with them." The knight swore and ran a hand through his hair. He had 30 men waiting to attack the group, some of them knights. If what this scout said was true, then he had to not only manage to stop the attack in time but he would look like a fool. He cursed again.

"What's wrong?" a new voice asked and Robert whirled around to see one of the younger knights, Sir Alaric.

"Apparently that foolish villager told us the wrong thing, Sir Richard and his party are with the Camelot knights. Still, I refuse to allow any Knight of Camelot to step foot in my city." The older knight growled, the younger man looked at him in alarm.

"What if they are here to help?" he questioned. "And what of the last man, could he truly be the prince?" Robert scoffed.

"No Knight of Camelot would help a kingdom like Aria, they are more likely here to spy or something as equally as low." He growled. The younger Knight scowled at him.

* **Mixed** **POV***

"And what of the other man?" he asked, angry now. Could the older knight truly be so stupidly stubborn?

"Could be a servant, I don't particularly care, if it were the prince then Richard would have sent word ahead that he was found so that reinforcements could help escort him." He reasoned, nodding to himself because surely his prince wouldn't travel with any Knight of Camelot. "Still we can't attack our own, we will block the road and force the Camelot Knights to turn around." He decided.

The younger Knight looked at him, frustration written across his face but said nothing, Robert was his senior, therefore his superior and so he remained silent. He was thankful that the man had at least decided not to attack.

"Go to the other group tell them that instead of attacking they are to block the road and surround the group, no one is to attack unless I give the order." He said, turning to the scout, the man nodded before running across the road after checking that no one coming down the road would see him. Robert then turned to the younger knight beside him. "Pass the word on this side." He ordered and the young man quickly hurried off to do so.

It was another 30 minutes before the group arrived, though they heard their approach before that. Robert was stunned at the laughter that drifted from the group, several of them he recognized as the men with Richard others he assumed were from the enemy knights. He grit his teeth angrily. How could any self-respecting Arian Knight be so friendly with a Knight of Camelot? Finally, the group can into view and Robert noticed that Richard was the only one that wasn't joining in on the camaraderie but instead seemed tense and wary, perhaps Richard did have enough sense to not trust the Camelot knights. Watching the group, he noted that the Arian Knights and the Camelotian Knights all seemed to congregate around the figure with the hood, the man who had assumed was a servant. However, there was no time to dwell on this because at that moment the group reached the point that meant it was time to attack. And so, he did.

 ***MERLIN POV***

Merlin was laughing happily with the others when suddenly he felt something in his gut. He only ever felt this when danger was near. He stopped laughing and looked around in fear, the others looked at him in confusion but before he could explain men came pouring out of the woods on either side of them, swords and crossbows at the ready. At the front of the group, Richard drew his sword as his horse reared at the unexpected people. The other knights immediately followed suit and Merlin felt his magic well up in him, he quickly picked a target and was about to shout a spell when he realized something. These men were all wearing his colors.

All of the men were wearing his colors, blue and silver. Some of them appeared to be foot soldiers while about ten of them appeared to be knights, wearing chainmail and armor, blue cape draped across their backs with his family seal sewed onto the back of them. The soldiers wore chain mail and armor as well though they wore royal blue tunics draped over their armor with the seal sewed onto the front.

Looking back to his friends he saw that his Knights were looking at each other in anger and confusion while his friends from Camelot were simply looking ready to attack. The group surrounded him protectively and Merlin realized that the attackers had trapped them in, creating a ring around them and blocking any chance of an exit. One of the knights at the front walked forward. The man had short dirty blond hair streaked with gray, similar to Richard. Merlin vaguely recognized him but couldn't quite place him, that is until Richard spoke.

"What is the meaning of this Robert?" The Head Knight growled, finally regaining control of his horse. Merlin recognized him then, this was Sir Robert, one of the knights that was almost always with his father and assigned to the king's protection.

"I could ask you the same thing, Sir Richard." The knight said coldly. "How dare you bring Camelot Knights to Aria." Richard glared at him and Merlin couldn't help but wonder what had happened to drive the two apart, the two had been good friends before everything went wrong. "They will not be allowed to pass into Aria." It was at that moment that Merlin remembered that he was wearing a hood that obscured his features, making him anonymous, he decided to take advantage of this.

"Why?" he asked coldly, nudging his horse forward, the others reluctantly let him pass. He looked down at the older man, frowning. The knight scowled up at him as he answered.

"They are Knights of Camelot, many of our people are refugees from The Great Purge, people that those bastards would happily burn alive without a second thought." He said, glaring at said knights with pure hatred. "Who the hell are you?" he asked, turning his hate filled gaze back to Merlin "Some servant for those scumbags?" he asked, gripping his sword tighter. Everyone is Merlin's party bristled at the insults, several of them looked ready to kill the knight with their bare hands, and if looks could kill the man would be dead nine times over already. Merlin spoke before they could do anything however.

"And under whose authority do you ban the Knights of Camelot? You don't even know what they are doing here, perhaps they have come to aid you in your war." Merlin said, ignoring the man's questions.

The Knight scoffed "No Knight of Camelot would aid anyone with magic let alone an entire kingdom that accepted it. As to where I get my authority, I am a Knight of Aria I am sworn to protect this kingdom and her people with my life, that should be authority enough." Merlin raised an eyebrow, not that the man could see it.

"Oh? Well, Sir Richard is a Knight of Aria as well is he not? And he seems to accept the Knights of Camelot, and is he not of higher rank than you? Is he not the Head Knight of Aria?" Merlin questioned, hurling the questions faster than the older knight could really think. The knight glared at him and raised his sword up at him, despite Merlin being on a horse and him not, immediately Richard dismounted and made his way to Robert, sword still drawn, an angry expression on his face. Merlin flung out his hand towards Richard and the older man stopped, shock showed on the faces of the men around them. One young knight, in particular, seemed to realize just who he was and went white. Unfortunately for Robert, he didn't seem to notice any of this instead he simply glared up at the prince.

"Who the hell are you and how do you know so much?" he asked, fury filling his voice.

"I believe I asked you a question first." Merlin said, knowing full well that technically Robert had asked who he was first. This seemed to anger the knight further.

"I am going to ask you one more time and then I am going to pull you down and gut you." He said, brandishing his sword at Merlin. Merlin finally decided it was time to reveal himself, he had seen what he wanted to, he had seen exactly what kind of man Sir Robert had become. "Who. The. Hell. Are. You?" He growled out each word, Richard stormed forward and grabbed him, yanking the other knight back from the horse by the back of his tunic before swinging his fist into the other man's face, Merlin heard a sickening crunching sound and knew the knight's nose had to be broken. Richard then lunged at the man ripping his sword away from him and throwing it to the ground some feet away before yanking the man towards him, his own sword positioned under Roberts throat.

"Enough Richard," Merlin said. Richard looked up at him and seemed like he was about to ignore the order before he finally released the other knight and stepped off to the side, sword still in his hand. Robert looked at Richard in rage and confusion as his hand flew to his nose, he then looked back at Merlin, blood pouring from his nose. By now many of the knights surrounding them and some of the guards had realized who he was and had laid down their weapons. Robert looked at them, furious.

"What are you doing you fools?!" he yelled. Merlin answered for them.

"I believe," he said coolly lifting his hand to his hood, his signant ring flashing in the light of the dying sun as he did so "that they have finally realized who I am." He finished, pulling his hood back and revealing his face. Robert paled as an expression of shock and disbelief spread across his face, his hand falling to his side, his broken nose forgotten.

 **AN: IMPORTANT PLEASE READ**

 **Hey guys! Thank you all so so much for reading! I was wondering what y'all thought of a side fanfciction in which you all would learn about Richard's side of the story? If I wrote this you would be able to learn what happened after little Merlin had to flee, you would learn how Balinor was wounded and how Richard got his scar. You would find out in detail what happened between Robert and Richard and you would see not only glimpses of the Knights of Aria hiding out but also the taking back of the Castle and more details on the search for Merlin. What do y'all think? I don't want to write it if no one will read it so please review and tell me what you think about that idea and this chapter! Again thank you all so much for reading, I will update soon!**

 **P.S. Did you all see that punch from Richard coming? Cause I did not, it was a surprise when I wrote it XD. Sometimes characters just take over and write themselves, Richard seems to like to do that a lot, Owen does as well…**


	21. Chapter 21

**So, this chapter went a wee bit longer than intended, by that I mean a lot longer. So long in fact that I needed to chop it up into two chapters and this one is 3,511 words so yeah. I will post the next chapter likely tomorrow and yeah enjoy! Also I want to dedicate this chapter to my brother who just got back from South Korea. Also my brother and brother-in-law (one currently military one ex) helped me a little with the fight scene though I did end up only using bits of advice.**

 ***IMPORTANT* *IMPORTANT*P.S. I went back and changed Merlin's age at the beginning of it all, I decided he was 13 when he left Aria, making him 21 now which is still young but not too young and not too old so yeah.**

 **P.P.S. So guys in this chapter and the chapter with Merlin's uncle there was a very subtle small hint that leads to another hint, it looks like a mistake however, first person who discoveres this hint gets an answer to one question, or they can request one thing to happen (though I may say no in which case you can ask for something else). That is all.**

"Sire," Robert said, dropping to one knee, and bowing his head, his fist to his heart. "Forgive me, my lord, I didn't know it was you." When Robert knelt a confused murmur swept through the group of men, many of whom had never seen the prince or even a painting. At the older knight's words however whoever hadn't already figured it out quickly did so and everyone laid their weapons on the ground and knelt.

"Stand up," Merlin said, his voice strong and commanding. His order was immediately obeyed and the Camelot Knights watched in awe, still getting used to the idea of Merlin as a royal. "I am surprised at you Sir Robert, I am surprised that you would talk to someone in the manner that you talked to me and I am horrified that you would threaten someone so quickly and for such a simple reason." He said, frowning at the knight.

"My prince-" Robert began but Merlin cut him off.

"Quite honestly Robert I don't particularly want to hear what you have to say right now. We will discuss this later when we have more privacy. For right now, however, I have not been home 8 in years and I think it is high time I get there, don't you?"

"Yes, my lord." Sir Robert answered, ashamed of his actions and ashamed that he had jumped to conclusions so horribly. It was then that Merlin realized that the feeling of danger in his gut had not gone away. He frowned but chose to ignore it, thinking that maybe it was just him being wary of Robert.

 ***Random Enemy soldier POV***

"We need to strike now." The soldier hissed to his companion. He and thirty other soldiers had finally found the young warlock and were hiding in the woods around them and the Arian knights and soldiers, waiting for a time to strike.

"Are you insane?" replied the other, "if we strike now we'll all be killed, there are over forty of them and 30 of us. Plus at least 20 of them are knights, and surely some of them have magic. We don't stand a chance."

"Oh? And what do you propose we do? Go back to the king and tell me are too cowardly to follow his orders? Do you know what will happen to us?! He will feed us to his beasts you idiot, trust me I've seen men die that way, this is much better." The other said, trying to keep his voice as low as possible.

"We could run." Suggested the other, the first man scoffed in response.

"So that the king can let his beasts loose to hunt us down and _then_ eat us, or maybe," he suggested, false excitement in his voice "Maybe they'll take us back to the King who will slowly torture us before making us dinner for his precious pets? No," his voice turned serious again "At least right now we have a chance, that foolish boy king is separated from the others and all the men around them have laid down their weapons. We strike now and we strike fast, we should be able to get a few before they even know what hit them and then you never know, we could succeed, after all, we have sorcerers too. Either way, dying fighting is far better than to die tied up as dinner." He finished, the other man who had looked sickly pale after the first part of what he said now seemed to have a bit more color and nodded.

"Alright," he agreed "we strike now. But I have an idea if we sneak closer while they are distracted we have of a chance of killing more of them."

 ***Merlin POV***

When Merlin saw the enemy soldiers the first thing that popped in his head was that maybe Arthur was right, maybe he really was the trouble magnet, not Arthur. The second was that he really shouldn't have ignored his gut and the third was that oh shit his men's weapons were still on the ground.

"Arm yourselves!" he yelled but it was still too late for some as they were struck by the enemy soldiers. Some of them also carried crossbows and one bolt whizzed towards Merlin.

"Merlin duck!" he heard Gwaine call and he quickly obeyed, letting the bolt whiz over his head and into a tree. By now everyone was armed again, including Robert and the fighting was going strong. Richard was back to back with Robert fending off soldiers that were trying to get to Merlin. Merlin's soldiers and knights were trying desperately to get to him to defend him, others fell behind the horses so that the mounted knights were more able to attack the enemy on the ground. While Merlin was firing spells left and right, cursing he grabbed the Sidhe staff from the back of his pack and used it to hit men who got too close and fire spells at others. One knight fell to the ground, wounded and Merlin quickly flung his attacker backward into a tree. The man nodded to him in thanks before picking his sword up to continue to fight.

Gwaine was the first to make it to Merlin, his horse shoving through the crowd. He swung at one of the men trying to get to Merlin, cutting into the man's neck. Gwaine wrenched his sword at the man before turning to one who was trying to yank him from his horse, Gwaine quickly killed him before finding another target. Merlin ducked a spell that was sent at him from one of the enemy soldiers.

" _Ástríce_ " he cried, shooting the spell and the man jumped to the side, dodging it. Merlin narrowed his eyes, not many men could dodge the young king's spells.

"Forbæne! Ácwele!" he shouted, sending a large fireball at the man, this one hit him and sent him flying back into a tree. Merlin winced in slight sympathy, remembering how that spell had felt when Nimueh had hit him with it, but the man would survive, he had after all. Just as he was about to loose his magic on some other poor unfortunate soul a ball of fire shot past his head and hit a man who had been aiming at Merlin with a crossbow. Merlin nodded at the man who had shot the fireball and then noticed that he looked pale and shaky, apparently the spell had taken a lot out of him. Merlin made a note to himself to check up on the man when the fight was over. Merlin looked around at the fighting, his men falling periodically and his Uncle's men dying even quicker and wished he could do more powerful magic but feared his own men getting in the way. He silently cursed Robert for bringing these men into a fight that could have ended much more quickly. Suddenly a crossbow bolt whizzed past him, grazing his arm. Merlin didn't have time to worry about the wound as from behind him he heard a grunt and he turned to see Elyan, the bolt sticking out of his side, blood pouring onto his hand that was now clutching the wound. Merlin watched in horror as the bolt knocked Elyan off balance and the knight fell to the ground, hitting his head on a rock and knocking himself out.

"Elyan!" Merlin cried, trying to get to the fallen knight but an enemy soldier suddenly separated them and tried to pull Merlin from his saddle. Merlin glared at the man and his eyes flared gold as the man was thrown back, one of Merlin's soldiers quickly finished him off and Merlin turned his attention to Elyan. He didn't want to dismount and lose the advantage of a horse but at the same time Elyan was hurt and needed someone to protect him and Merlin couldn't take his horse over to him without running the risk of trampling the knight. Then he saw one of the Knights of Aria, the one who had first realized who he was, run over to the fallen Elyan. The knight began defending the fallen man and Merlin nodded to him in thanks, he simply nodded back before killing another enemy.

Finally when the fighting was over and the enemies dead Merlin hopped off his horse and ran to Elyan. The prince quickly knelt beside him and carefully lifting his head with both hands, inspected the wound. The knight who had been defending him knelt beside him.

"Is there anything I can do to help sire?" he asked and Merlin nodded.

"In my saddle bag there are some bandages, get them and my water." The knight nodded before getting up and running to the horse. "Gwaine," Merlin said, speaking to the knight who had just run up. "have any wounded brought to me, the more severe their wounds put closer to me so I can get to them next. Also get me more water and clean bandages, tear up shirts if need be. Also see if anyone else has medical experience, the more help I have the better." He ordered, as he carefully inspected Elyan's wounds. The rouge knight quickly ran off to get the things Merlin needed. Soon the first knight arrived with bandages. Merlin took them without a word and quickly bandaged Elyan's head. The knight began to stir and tried to sit up but Merlin quickly pushed him back down.

"Don't move Elyan, you're wounded." He said, moving to look at the bolt again. "Do you have a clean dagger on you Sir…?" Merlin questioned.

"Sir Alaric my lord," he responded, handing the prince the requested weapon.

"Thank you, Sir Alaric," Merlin responded, taking the weapon, and cutting through the bolt before pulling it out of the wound, Elyan groaned in pain as he did this. "Calm down Elyan, there are worse wounds to suffer." Elyan glared at him.

"Right Merlin, like you've ever had a crossbow bolt in your side." He said, his voice filled with sarcasm. Merlin just raised an eyebrow at him.

"How do you know I haven't? I've ridden into battle with you countless times and ridden out on missions with Arthur even more and you think I've never been hit with a crossbow bolt? Besides I was hit with one during my escape from Aria, remember? I told you that story only a few days ago, I certainly hope you haven't forgotten already, maybe that head wound is more serious than I thought?" Merlin asked, hands going to Elyan's head to inspect the wound again. The knight swatted his hands away as Sir Alaric looked at the young royal in concern.

"Yes yes, I remember," Elyan said, finally succeeding in fending off Merlin.

"I need to use magic to heal you Elyan, otherwise it will take a while but you will survive." He said and both knights tensed, Merlin wondered at why Sir Alaric would be wary around magic but didn't pry into it. Finally, the wounded Knight nodded.

"Alright Merlin I-I trust you." Merlin grinned at the man before holding his hand over Elyan's wound and he prayed that his minimal ability with healing magic would be enough.

" _Þurhhæle dolgbenn_ " He chanted, his eyes glowing gold as he did so. Elyan watched in wonder as the skin sealed itself back together. He reached down to touch it but Merlin swatted his hand away.

"Leave it alone, it's still healing on the inside, and just stay here, I need to look more thoroughly at your head later, right now though I need to help others." Elyan just grumbled as he lay back down on the ground. Merlin stood up just as Gwaine ran back to him, holding several flasks of water and what looked to be a torn up shirt.

"The wounded men are over there." He said, pointing to where about 8 men lay on the ground and Percival and Owen were gently laying down another man. "Only serious wounds are over there, figured everyone else can wait till later." He said and Merlin nodded in response.

"Thank you, can you check if any among my Uncle's men are still alive? If so bring them to me." He said and Gwaine ran off to do so. Merlin walked to the fallen knights and soldiers, Sir Alaric right beside him. When he got to the men he immediately knelt beside the man who looked far more serious, his hands were on his belly and covered in blood.

 ***Alaric POV***

Alaric watched in awe as his prince knelt beside the wounded man and began talking softly to him.

"I need you to move your hands." He said gently, drawing the soldier's attention to him. The man looked at him in fear and shook his head. "Please, I want to help you." He told the man kindly, the soldier reluctantly lowered his hands and Alaric nearly retched at the sight but managed to school his features to neutral.

 ***Warning Graphic scene ahead: Scene may exceed rating of this story, by this I mean to say that my sister who is a nurse at a children's ER and has wound experience wrote this, do not feel bad for skipping I will make another note when it's safe.***

The stench nearly brought him to his knees as he attempted to remain expressionless. The sides of the man's flesh were separated, with fat, muscle, and bowel emerging from the wound in a heaping, bloody mess. The poor injured was merely keeping at bay the 20 feet of small intestine, feebly attempting to return it to the abdominal cage from whence it came. Meanwhile, his liver threatened to become separated from the mesentery designed to hold it in place. The patient was becoming increasingly pale, with a far-away look in his eyes. He looked up at Merlin with an expression of pleading and desire for mercy.

 ***It is now safe, we were merely discussing disembowelment***

"Swefe nu" Merlin chanted, his eyes flashing gold and the soldier's eyes closed and his hands dropped to his sides. "There's nothing more I can do." The prince explained, his voice filled with sorrow. "The least I could do was to let him die peacefully." Alaric nodded and the young warlock bowed his head for a second before standing up and moving to the next wounded man, this one a knight. The man had a deep wound to his side and was bleeding profusely, his face pale. Someone had tied a hasty bandage on the wound but it was now soaked through with blood. The young prince carefully peeled the bandage away and revealed that the wound, while deep, had missed any vital organs and the biggest danger to the man was blood loss. The knight had luckily passed out already, from blood loss or pain he wasn't quite sure. Alaric watched as his prince tried to stop the bleeding with the rags he had but when the bleeding only slowed the young prince turned to him.

"Come here." He ordered and Alaric hastily knelt beside the wounded knight "hold this down, put as much pressure onto it as you can." He said, moving to the side slightly so the knight could take over. As soon as he took his hands away from the rags Alaric replaced him and applied as much pressure as he could without hurting the other knight further. He focused on his task while the prince held his hands over the wound and began chanting. He did his best to ignore the feeling of needing to run away as the prince chanted the unfamiliar words next to him.

"You can stop applying pressure now, the wound isn't healed completely but I stopped the bleeding. I can't close a wound this deep, I am not skilled enough at magical healing, we need to get him to a proper healer soon." He said, grabbing the flask of water beside him and pouring some on the wound, cleaning it. Next, he grabbed the bandages and wrapped them around the unconscious man's torso before rising again to move onto the next patient. The prince continued this way, cleaning and healing wounds as best he could before wrapping bandages around them, his long fingers gracefully and gently working to help as many as he could. Half-way through the patients, another, older knight had come up. The knight was a little older than even Sir Richard and had a short gray beard, his hair was to his ears and was mostly gray with some black hair in places.

Alaric knew this to be Sir Oswald, one of the knights from the beginning of King Balinor's reign. The knight was trained in the healing arts from his father who was a physician, the knight supposed this was why the older knight had come over.

"Sire." He said, drawing the prince's attention. The prince looked up and smiled at the sight of the older knight.

"Sir Oswald!" he said in way of greeting.

"Prince Merlin," the knight responded, nodding back "I cannot begin to tell you how pleased I am that these old eyes were allowed to set eyes on you once again."

"Come now Sir Oswald, you're not that old." The older knight chuckled and shook his head "Unfortunately I didn't come over here for catching up My Lord, as much as I want to. I came because I wish to aid you in helping the wounded." Merlin nodded and turned to the next patient. This one was a young knight who Alaric was friends with that had taken a sword across the chest, there was a deep gash that ran from his left shoulder to his right side. This was the second one who was conscious in the line of badly wounded, Alaric took this a good sign.

"Hey Aren," he said kindly, kneeling beside him, and taking his hand comfortingly. "How are you feeling?" The other man was pale and sweaty and looked at him angrily.

"Oh, I'm doing just fine Alaric, just a giant gash on my chest. And how are you today?" he said snarkily.

"Oh, come on Aren you don't have to be rude, besides it's only a scratch, I've had worse from a bar fight." He replied, grinning at his friend.

"Bullshit Alaric, you know you're terrible at lying and if I die I'll haunt you for the rest of your life." He said and it was obvious that the man wasn't truly angry, simply trying to distract himself, Alaric happily complied.

"Sir Aren!" he said in mock horror "Watch your language around the Prince!" The man in question who had until this point been working quietly, laughed aloud.

"Not to worry Sir Alaric, I assure you I've heard far worse, and don't worry Sir Aren, your wound is easily survivable with proper care and rest." He said, rubbing a salve from his bag onto the wound. The wounded knight blushed when he fully processed that he had cussed in front of his prince. "Sir Oswald please hand me those bandages." Prince Merlin said, pointing to some bandaged beside said knight, as the man handed him the requested item Alaric couldn't help but notice that his shirt pulled back from his wrist slightly and as it did it revealed scars on his wrist. Scars that could only be caused by manacles. Oswald seemed to notice this too and before the prince could pull his arm back he grabbed the Prince's wrist and pulled it towards him.

"Sire, what is this?" he asked, inspecting the scar. The young prince tried to pull his hand back but the older man was having none of it. "These look like scars from- from manacles," he said, looking at the prince in concern, Alaric and even Aren looked at him in concern. The young prince finally managed to pull his hand from the older knight's grasp, which had loosened in his shock.

"I was in Camelot for six years Sir Oswald." He said, his voice hard as he quickly bandaged the man before him "and unfortunately Camelot has had quite a bit of trouble the past six years, scars are to be expected." He said, finishing the bandages, and rising to his feet, leaving the stunned Knights in silence as he went to the next man.

 ***Sir Oswald POV***

Oswald stared after the prince in concern and shock, not only did the prince have scars that had to have been caused by manacles but he also said scars as a plural, how many did the young man have? What caused them? What all had the prince been through in the past six years? And where was he during the first two? These questions and more whirled around his head as he turned back to the patient and stared in shock at near perfect bandages and yet another question popped into his head, where had the prince learned the art of healing and how had he gotten so good at it?

 **I hope you all enjoyed, sorry about the violence and yet another attack on the group but it needed to happen for reasons. Sorry they still haven't reached Aria, I want it to happen just as much as you guys and I promise that by chapter 23 they will reach Aria so again, sorry. Please review!**

 **P.S. Enough people liked the idea of Richard's story that I will be writing it, however popular opinion seems to be that I shouldn't write it till this one is finished, what does everyone else think? I should mention that I have already begun an outline as well as writing a few bits and pieces.**


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: *Smashed head into wall repeatedly* This- was not- supposed- to be- so-damn- LONG. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SHORT DAMMIT! But NOOO it just kept going and going and going and GOING! I literally cut the last chapter in half because it was getting this long what the heck?! Half of what happened in this chapter was unplanned or not supposed to happen yet! WHY DOES THIS STORY INSIST ON WRITING ITSELF SO MUCH?! I'M SUPPOSED TO BE THE AUTHOR *Cough cough RICHARD* STOP WRITING YOURSELF YOU BASTARD! IF YOU KEEP WRITING YOURSELF I SWEAR I'LL STRANGLE YOU.**

 **Richard: *smirking* "no you won't you love me too much."**

 **Me: "WHY YOU SMUG SON OF A- *lunges at him***

 **Gwaine: *Grabs me and holds me back* Calm down, calm down you like Richard remember?**

 **Me: *tries in vain to reach Richard, hands out to strangle him* Just let me at him!**

 **Richard: *looking worried* Uh- maybe we should end this author's note now.**

 ***Merlin POV***

Merlin quietly worked on the rest of the patients with Sir Oswald and Sir Alaric, ignoring their questioning and worried glances. He cursed himself for making such a stupid mistake and letting them see the scars. He had hoped the scars from when Morgana had captured him would have healed but they never had. Merlin was just grateful that they hadn't seen any more of his scars, otherwise Merlin was sure they would never leave him alone. When Merlin finished taking care of the patients on the ground he went over to Richard who was talking to several knights. Seeing him, he quickly ended the conversation and walked over to him.

"Sire," he said, bowing slightly. "You weren't hurt in the fight were you? I would have checked on you earlier but you seemed to be fine and quite busy." Merlin shook his head.

"No, I wasn't wounded, were you?" Richard looked at him, his expression knowing.

"Then why is your arm bleeding?" he asked, pointing towards Merlin's right arm where the crossbow bolt had grazed by him. Merlin looked at it in surprise.

"Oh, I didn't even notice it." He said, furrowing his brow as he looked at it. Richard sighed and shook his head.

"I figured as much, I'll get Sir Oswald so he can clean it and bandage it." He said, moving to go to the knight but Merlin stopped him.

"No, I'll be fine, I can do it myself." Richard looked at him doubtfully.

"With one hand? No, you need someone to help." He said, shaking his head, a sad expression took over his face then "You're not alone anymore Merlin, you can ask for help, there is no shame in needing it. You don't need to hide anymore" Merlin looked at him, seeming to debate what to do. Finally, he nodded.

"But not until after we set up camp, it's too late to make it to Aria tonight, we'll go in the morning." Richard nodded in agreement.

"I sent someone to look for somewhere to camp while you were tending to the wounded, there is a clearing a little ways into the woods, its large enough for us to camp there, and those with minor wounds can be taken care of there." Merlin nodded, before turning to Richard, his expression filled with worry.

"How many did we lose?" He asked and Richard needed no clarification before shaking his head and answering.

"Seven men, Four soldiers and 3 knights."

"Five soldiers." Merlin corrected. "One of the wounded didn't make it." Richard sighed but nodded and the two watched silently as the Arian soldiers cleared the dead enemies out of the way. Suddenly they heard shouting and the sound of swords being drawn, Richard hastily drew his own weapon as he and Merlin ran towards the noise. When they reached the scene several knights stood around a form laying on the ground. It was one of his uncle's men.

The man had a crossbow bolt sticking out of his abdomen, blood was seeping past the wound and as Merlin drew closer he saw that the man was shaky and pale, only getting paler by the second. Looking at the wound Merlin noted that by its location it had most likely hit the abdominal aorta, a large blood vessel that came directly from the heart. The only reason the man was even still alive was that the bolt blocked the artery from bleeding out. Judging by the amount of blood around him the man had only a few minutes left in this world, given the relatively slow pace at which he was bleeding out; should Merlin remove it, the dying soldier would bleed out in seconds. Despite this being one of the men who had just tried to kill him, Merlin felt a pang of guilt at not being able to save him.

"Well well, if it isn't the boy king." The man growled as Merlin walked up, stopping beside him. One of the knights glared at him, digging the tip of his sword into the man's neck slightly.

"He is our prince, Our king is-"

"Dead," Merlin said, cutting him off "My father, your king, is dead." As much as Merlin hated his men finding out like this he wouldn't lie to them. Shock, grief, and anger, sometimes even resignation showed on the faces around him. "The question is however, how did you know that?" he said crouching beside the man. The man laughed and spit blood into Merlin's face, the knight dug the blade even further into the man's neck, causing a small stream of blood to appear.

"How dare you?!" The man yelled, his face beet red in his fury, he opened his mouth to rant more but Merlin cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"Enough, this man doesn't have enough time left for you to yell at him. Now tell me, how did you know that my father is dead? The only ones who know that are the ones I have told. Does my uncle know?" The man just glared at him in response, Merlin noticed that the soldier's breathing was becoming labored, his breaths increasingly rapid and shallow. "Tell me!" he said, pressing for more information, the man didn't have long and if Merlin wanted answers he would need to get them before the oxygen deprivation started to affect his cognition, and it wouldn't be long now.

"I'll- n-never," the man's breathing was even shallower now and he began blinking rapidly, as if trying to clear his vision. "I- I'll nver," his eyelids began drooping as his speech became slurred. "I'll never- tell yuanfing" the man's speech fell into incoherent blabbering and Merlin sighed, the man would no longer be able to answer any questions. He looked at the bolt and knew what he had to do. With the bolt still in it would take at least another minute or two for the man to die, and he would no doubt die in agony. Wrapping his hand around the bolt Merlin gave the man the only mercy he could and wrenched the object out. Blood began pouring forth from the wound, and within a matter of seconds, the man was dead.

Merlin stood up and looked at the men standing around him, looking at him in shock. He sighed, he really didn't want to face these men right now, not after what they had just learned, but he knew that the longer he delayed it the worse it would be. By now most of the Arian soldiers and knights had gathered around and all of them had been caught up on the events by their comrades. He looked at the expectant faces and fear seized him, for a second he felt as if he couldn't breathe but when he saw Richard step closer and knew that the older knight was there he felt his fear and anxiety ease and he knew exactly what to say. He felt as if Arthur guided him and told him exactly what to say, he called to his mind the speeches Arthur had given to his own men and prayed that his would be half as good as the Once and Future King's.

"I know that for many years you have all been waiting for me and my father to return. I understand what you are all feeling right now, for I have felt it too. You feel sorrow, anger, and maybe even betrayal. But I will tell you this, my father did not desert you, he did not desert Aria. When I found him he had finally healed from his wounds, and was returning to Aria. Many of you are likely wondering how he died, well I will tell you. He died saving my life." Merlin felt a lump form in his throat at the painful memories but swallowed it down and continued. "Me and a dear friend of mine found him many years ago when we needed his aid, while traveling we were attacked by Cenred's men, one of them was about to kill me when my father saved my life. That was 5 years ago." Merlin paused to let this sink in and murmurs swept through the men, he let them whisper for a few seconds before continuing.

"Many of you are now wondering why I had not returned to Aria sooner, unfortunately I cannot give you that answer. But I assure you I had a valid reason and you will know the truth when it is time. For now I want you all to know that no matter what happens I will not desert Aria, I will stand beside you and fight with you, die with you." Merlin's voice was louder now, commanding and regal. "I will not let my traitorous Uncle win this war, even if it is at the cost of my own life. I will happily die for Aria and her people. I cannot promise you that in the fight to come you will all live, as you have seen today that is not the case. What I can promise you is that I will fight with you every step of the way, that I will lead you to the best of my ability and that I will not let my father's legacy die, I will not let the men who have died in this war have died in vain. And when the dust settles and the war is over, those who have survived will be able to rebuild Aria to her former glory. I do not promise gold, glory, or power. I promise freedom from the tyranny of my Uncle, freedom for our families, our women and children, and freedom for all of you." Merlin let silence take over for a minute. " Who among you will stand with me? Who among you will fight for freedom, for Aria?!" he called, his voice ringing in the air.

He was met with silence for several seconds before Sir Alaric drew his sword and lifted it into the air, the metal ringing as it left the sheath.

"Long live the King!" he roared, his call was quickly answered as the rest of the men drew their weapons and copied his actions, repeating the call. Merlin felt pride and joy swell in his heart at the sight and out of the corner of his eye saw that Richard and the rest of his knights had joined in the call.

"Long live the King! Long live the King! Long live the King!"

 **-Line Break-LB: YEAH LONG LIVE THE KING WHOOP!- AN: No, not you-LB: Aww :(*pouts*-**

At the camp site that night Sir Alaric managed to pull Sir James aside.

"Hello Alaric." The twin grinned at him, "It's good to see you again."

"What took so long, you were supposed to be back a week ago." The knight frowned.

"We ran into some," the knight hesitated "issues." He finished and Alaric narrowed his eyes at him.

"What do you mean issues?"

James shrugged in response, "That's not for me to say, if you want to know ask Merlin." He responded and Alaric rolled his eyes.

"I can't simply waltz up to the king and demand to know what took so long." He exclaimed, exasperated. James shrugged again and Alaric considered punching his face in but quickly dismissed the idea, the king had enough injured to deal with without Alaric adding another broken nose to the mix.

"Then it seems like you won't get an answer." He relied, nonchalantly. Alaric wondered if maybe just one more broken nose would really hurt all that much. A broken nose shouldn't take too long to heal, right?

*Merlin POV*

Merlin was quietly bandaging one of the soldier's arms, the man had been wounded by a sword during the fight but the wound was minor enough that it was able to wait. The man was the last of those who received minor wounds and Merlin was grateful of that fact, he was exhausted and simply wanted to sleep. The soldier seemed rather uncomfortable at being healed by his king and thus remained silent through the process, exactly like all the men before him. Merlin had at first tried to make small talk but when that failed miserably, the men uncomfortable with being on such familiar ground with their king, he ended up working in silence. When Merlin's nimble fingers finally finished wrapping the man's arm he sent him away, the man bowed and thanked him before leaving. Merlin began cleaning up the loose bandages and packing them away.

"Your speech was very inspiring my lord." Merlin heard a voice behind him say. Merlin turned and saw Sir Richard standing there. The large knight walked over and sat beside him and stared into the fire for several long seconds, the two were each thinking of the future, the war, and Merlin's future reign. "You will make a great king Merlin." The knight said, Merlin understood that by using his name Richard was talking to him as a friend, not as a subordinate. Merlin sighed as he turned to face the man.

"I hope so, I hope that I am able to live up to my father's legacy and I hope that I will be able to lead Aria to victory."

"If anyone can do it, it is you. In the time that we have been traveling together I have seen that you have grown to be one of the kindest, wisest, and strongest men I know. I don't know what happened to you in Camelot, I don't know how you got your scars but what I do know is that you've been through hell and back yet you are still such a good man. I can see the pain of the things you've faced in your eyes, when you think no one's looking I've seen it. Yet when most men would have shut the world out and turned to hatred you only grew kinder. I heard a saying once and I thought I knew what it meant, but seeing you now I know that it was said about men like you. 'The loneliest people are the kindest. The saddest people smile the brightest. The most damaged people are the wisest. All because they do not wish to see anyone suffer the way they do.'" Richard quoted, still staring into the fire, finished he turned to the young king. "You are the kindest person I have ever met, you smile brighter than anyone I have ever seen and you are wise far beyond your years, there is no doubt in my mind that you are going to be the best king Aria has ever seen."

Merlin looked back at him, tears in his eyes. "Thank you" he said, his voice hoarse from trying not to cry, he opened his mouth to say more but the lump in his throat wouldn't allow him to say anymore. Instead he reached over and hugged the older man. Richard seemed startled at first but gently returned the hug, holding the younger man in his arms for a second. Richard glared at any knight or soldier who gave them weird looks, his expression making them pale and hurry away. Owen, Nathan and the twins were off somewhere with the knights of Camelot hunting for something to eat for dinner.

"Now," Richard broke the silence as Merlin pulled away "let's get that arm taken care of. Didn't think I would forget did you?" Merlin laughed out loud and nodded before pulling the bandages and salve out again. "Take off your shirt." Richard ordered and Merlin looked at him hesitantly before glancing around at the camp of knights and soldiers, reluctant to let them see his scars, because while Merlin's fire was a little ways away from the others, they would still see the scars. "They're going to find out eventually, besides do you think they don't all have their fair share of scars as well?" Merlin sighed but nodded reluctantly, there was no reason to hide his scars, they told his story and to deny his story was to deny himself, and he refused to do so any longer.

Pulling his shirt off over his head, he felt the stares immediately. He noticed several knights freeze at the sight and several soldiers looked like they were going to puke. "Uh Richard?" he said hesitantly and the knight, who had been inspecting the young king's arm turned to him expectantly.

"Yes?" he questioned, his voice vaguely annoyed as he really just wanted to treat the wound. Merlin motioned towards the gawking men. Richard growled before shouting at the men "Stop gawking you fools, you've seen scars before this is no different!" Immediately the men flushed in embarrassment before going back to whatever task they had been taking care of, occasionally casting worried or curious glances in their direction. When Sir Robert was walking by and saw the scars however he stopped what he was doing and walked over to the two.

"Sire," he said, bowing deeply when he reached the edge of the campfire. Richard continued to silently work on Merlin's arm, seeming to not notice the other knight, in truth he was watching him out of the corner of his eye, Merlin looked at Robert expectantly. "I came over to apologize. I acted rashly today, I was blinded by my hatred for Camelot and didn't think clearly, my actions cost the lives of good men and I beg your forgiveness." He said, dropping to one knee as he finished, bowing his head in submission. Merlin inspected the knight as he thought of how to reply.

"You are right Sir Robert, your actions were rash and they did cost the lives of those men." Merlin replied bluntly. This still kneeling knight winced at the words but remained silent. "I do not know why you turned to anger and hatred, I do not know what you went through in the years that I have been gone, but nothing excuses attacking innocent men. If those knights had been traveling alone, would you have attacked and killed them without stopping? Because I believe you would have." Robert's silence was answer enough to his question and Merlin pressed on. "What if King Arthur had decided to free magic and those knights had come to Aria to attempt to make a treaty?" he asked and Robert scoffed quietly but Merlin caught it. "If you have something to say, say it." He ordered calmly, doing his best to hide the rage that welled up in him.

"Forgive me sire but King Arthur would never free magic, he is his father's son. Magic will never be free in Camelot as long as _he_ reigns." Merlin did his best to not allow his emotions to show on his face. Fortunately, the knight's head was still bowed and he didn't see the pained expression that crossed the king's face, but Richard did. Merlin composed himself again before speaking.

"You do not know that, you do not know King Arthur. You do not know his heart, his mind, his soul. And yes, he is his father's son in many ways but he is also different in many more ways. Already his reign is much different than his fathers. Already he has made decisions that his father would never dream of making. He is a good king and a great man, I have faith that he will see reason eventually." Merlin said passionately, defending his friend, and speaking his heart. "Now stand up, it's about time I tended to that broken nose." Richard, who had finished the bandage on the King's arm mere moments ago, blushed slightly at that, embarrassed that he had lost control. Robert stood and walked to Merlin, kneeling again when he reached the seated king. "This is going to hurt." Merlin warned but the older man just gave him a nod to continue and Merlin reached forward, ignoring the fact that Robert was now staring at the scars on his chest and arms. Merlin quickly snapped the nose back in place and Robert cried out slightly, then Merlin laid his hand on the swollen nose and whispered several words in the Old Religion and his eyes glowed gold as the nose began repairing itself. Merlin nodded to Robert and the man stood up and took a step back.

Merlin heard a gasp behind him and turned to see Gwaine standing there, staring at his back in shock, when Merlin turned he exposed his chest, allowing the brunet to see the scars there as well. Gwaine gasped again. Leon came up behind him and looked at the roguish knight in confusion, curious why he stopped, Leon followed his gaze until his eyes landed on Merlin, the blond dropped the rabbit he was carrying in shock as he stared at the warlock. Merlin scrambled to put his shirt on but by the time he did the others had come up and seen the scars as well. Gwaine was the first to break the impending awkward silence.

"Merlin mate," he murmured, "what- what happened to you." Merlin, who was now standing looked at them all nervously. Robert stood nearby expectantly, wanting an answer to the question as well.

"Well-um- I" he stuttered, unsure how to tell them the truth. A few more seconds of stuttering later and Merlin sagged in defeat. "I guess it's time to tell you all the final secret I've been keeping, everyone will find out when we reach Aria anyway, there's no point in making it a surprise. You will all be wanting to sit down for this." He said and everyone nodded in agreement, as everyone moved to sit around the fire he noticed that Sir Alaric was standing with James, he nodded to the knight and the man nodded back respectfully.

Once there were all seated around the fire and the rabbits the knights had caught were cooking over the fire, Merlin began.

"Have any of you heard of the prophesy of Emrys and the Once and Future King?" he asked looking at everyone around the fire though directing his question to his own knights as they were more likely to have heard of them, but to everyone's surprise it was Percival who answered.

"Emrys is supposed to be the most powerful warlock to ever walk the earth, and he is supposed to guide and protect the Once and Future King, who is supposed to unite all of Albion." He answered and everyone turned to him, shocked, Percival simply shrugged at the looks. "like I said, the druids took me in once my family was killed, they told me the prophecies but I thought them just fairy tales." Merlin nodded.

"Many people do." He answered, still shocked that Percival knew the prophesies. "However, I can tell you the truth, the prophesies are real." He said and before he could go on Alaric spoke.

"How do you know?" he asked, curiosity filling his voice. Merlin smiled at him before answering.

"Because, I am Emrys."

 **AN: Well then. That chapter was… unexpected. Lets play a game! Its called: all of the things that happened in this chapter that were unplanned or not supposed to happen yet!**

 **1\. The enemy soldier who died was not supposed to exist**

 **2\. the whole oh the enemy soldier knows that Merlin is a king and that Balinor is dead was not supposed to happen yet.**

 **3\. Merlin's speech was not supposed to happen**

 **4\. Richard's speech was not supposed to happen P.S. with the thing he quoted that is not mine that is from an anonymous source, you can find it online**

 **5\. Everyone seeing Merlin's scars**

 **6\. Alaric finding out about Merlin being Emrys**

 **It was also supposed to be longer but I decided to cut the chapter off at 3,859 words, longest chapter yet, whoop! I hope you all enjoyed. Also shout out to my older sister who helped me out with the wound and the symptoms, she told me about the aorta and what would happen so yeah thanks sister! Please review they mean so much! Almost at 200! Also the thing y'all were supposed to guess in the last chapter was that the enemy soldiers knew the truth, go back and read it you'll catch it this time I'm sure.**


	23. Chapter 23

***KIND OF IMPORTANT* Hello peoples! Chapter 23 yay! And while this chapter may have gone a little long that's ok. I told you they would reach Aria this chapter and dammit they did. So this lovely chapter is dedicated to Phoebe594 and if you want to know why look up and to the left. That's right! I have a story cover! *Puffs chest proudly* *Fails because I'm a girl and boobs* anyway I'm really really happy about it and it's now my phone's background, a constant reminder that I need to update ASAP. Which likely means no more year long unofficial hiatuses! Yay! No but seriously that cover is amazing! Tell me in the reviews what you think of it! Or you can just ooh and ah over it there too, either works let's just let Phoebe know how wonderful it is! Also she wants to do work for other writers as well so if you're a writer send her a PM!**

 **Sorry this is such a long AN but that needed to be said and so does this. But fair warning guys I will be going on hiatus for a couple weeks, I'll update when I can but no promises! Please be patient! Anyway, Enjoy!**

 **P.S. I know these AN's get kinda long and I'm sorry but they often times contain important stuffs. Also if anyone wants to read my Gwaine headcannon/rant it's at the bottom! Also shoutout to FreyaMyth10 who reviewed the last chapter at just the right time as I had been running out of motivation! Thank you! 207 review! Yay thank you all!**

 ***Mixed POV, mostly Merlin***

" _You're_ Emrys?" Sir Nathan questioned, his expression one of pure shock. "I-I've heard the stories but I never- I never thought…" the knight trailed off into silence and simply stared at his king in awe. The others had similar expressions mixed with surprise. Alaric was pale and tense while Richard was looking at Merlin in wonder. Merlin noticed James reach over and put his hand on Alaric's shoulder before whispering something in the brunet's ear. The man relaxed slightly but was still pale and Merlin wondered if perhaps the knight was afraid of him.

"Merlin- or should I call you Emrys?" Leon asked, his brow furrowed as he eyed Merlin warily, having magic was one thing but being the most powerful magic user ever was completely different.

"No, call me Merlin still, only the druids call me Emrys." Merlin answered, shaking his head. Realization dawned on Richard's face.

"That's why you didn't want to be healed by the druids!" he blurted, cutting off Leon who had been about to continue his question. The others looked at him in confusion and Robert and Alaric looked between their king and Richard in worry.

"Healed? What do you mean? Was he wounded? Is that the 'issue' you were talking about James?" Alaric asked, turning to said knight. James hesitated but nodded after a second, sending Merlin an apologetic look. Robert glared at Richard angrily as he rose to his feet.

"You let him get hurt? You were meant to protect him and you let him get wounded?" He asked, fury filling his voice. Richard quickly rose to his feet, just as angry. Both knights were now gripping their swords.

"I did better than you." He growled, "at least I didn't attack him!" Robert went red with rage as he stepped closer to Richard, prepared to fight the bigger man.

"Enough!" Merlin called, annoyed that the two would be so childish. "Sir Richard did a fine job of protecting me but even he is not perfect and when it mattered the most he nearly died to save me, and Richard that was unnecessary, Sir Robert has apologized for his actions and I have forgiven him." Robert shot him a grateful look at that. "I don't know what happened to make you two such enemies but I still remember a time when you two would have died for each other. While that may not be that case any longer for whatever reason you both need to act like adults, we are at war and cannot afford for our Head knight and a senior knight to be squabbling like children, so either both of you get your act together and learn to work together again or you can both lay down your swords now and leave. I do not want you to leave and I saw how well you two fought together today, but if you can't agree to be civil then turn in your cape and go. For if you cannot be civil towards each other then you are not worthy to be Knights of Aria"

Silence reigned as the two knights glared at each other. Finally, Richard held his arm out and after a second of hesitation Robert clasped his arm and the two nodded at each other before the grip was released and they turned back to their king.

"We will never abandon you Your Majesty, and we will never abandon the fight for Aria." Richard said, bowing slightly and Robert copied the action, signaling his agreement.

"Now, let's get back to our discussion, Leon, I believe you had a question," Merlin said, turning to Leon, and successfully changing the conversation back to the original topic, avoiding further questions about the injuries he had sustained on the journey to Aria.

"Merlin" Leon said hesitantly "what kind of powers do you have exactly?" Leon swallowed as he nervously asked his next question "Are you- are you as strong as Morgana?

"No," Merlin shook his head and everyone looked at him in worry and confusion, Leon and Elyan seemed slightly relieved, until Merlin continued. "I'm stronger, it is my destiny to destroy her." Leon paled and looked at Merlin nervously, he trusted Merlin, yes, but he also knew that power or any kind can corrupt. Morgana had been a wonderful woman before her magic had taken over. "You should not fear me Leon, and I know what you're thinking. Morgana's magic did not corrupt her it was her fear of Uther that made her hate him, that hatred and fear turned her to evil, not magic. I am the light to her darkness, the love to her hate." He said, voicing the blond knight's worries, and subsequently soothing them. It was Gwaine who asked the next question.

"How powerful are you Merlin?" Elyan asked, his voice slightly shaky. Merlin debated a minute before finally answering.

"That is something even I do not know, I am still weak compared to the power I will someday reach, I do not just _have_ Magic, I am the human embodiment of Magic, I am Magic itself." He answered and Elyan looked like he had been punched in the gut, Alaric looked like he was going to be sick and the twins were both slack jawed.

"So, shouldn't you easily be able to destroy your Uncle?" Owen asked. Merlin sighed as he shook his head.

"I should, yes but my Uncle has magic as well, powerful magic, and while I believe that one on one I can defeat him I am not positive. Not only that but my uncle would not make it a fair fight and I believe there is more to him than we know, until I know the full extent of his powers and everything he has at his disposal I cannot risk attacking him one on one." Everyone seemed to accept this explanation.

"How did that soldier know that you are king?" Richard asked, frowning.

"I don't know," Merlin replies, shaking his head "And that worries me, the only ones who knew were me and Gaius. Even the men responsible were killed in the fight. The sooner I find out how he knows the better, it worries me that he knows and that I don't know how. I've lost any advantage that I may have had at being a Dragonlord without him knowing and now I will have the added distraction of a coronation.

"Merlin, if you're truly this Emrys, then does that mean that Arthur is…?" he trailed off, unable to finish the question.

"Arthur is the Once and Future King, yes. It is my destiny to guide him and protect him while he unites Albion."

"Then that's how you got all your scars, by protecting Arthur." Gwaine realized, understanding lighting up his face.

"Yes, that is why I told you first about my identity as Emrys, now you can understand why I protect Arthur and Camelot from the dangers they face."

"Merlin, you know we're not letting you leave it at that. I want to story behind each and every scar." Gwaine said, looking at the young king pointedly. Merlin nodded as he sat down next to where Richard had taken a seat. Taking off his shirt, he began pointing to his scars and telling the story of each one. Stories of assassins and sorcerers, bandits and enemy soldiers. When he got to the large burn on his chest he hesitated.

"This one I got- Do you remember Nimueh and the Questing Beast?" he asked turning to Leon and the blond nodded, it wasn't easy to forget something like that, Arthur had nearly died. Leon could still remember the fear that was coursing through the castle at the thought of the young prince dying.

"But how does The Questing Beast relate to Nimueh? And how does that relate to a burn on your chest?" Leon asked, puzzled.

"I'm getting to that. When the questing beast bit Arthur I did everything I could to save him but it was hopeless, once the questing beast bites someone they are as good as dead."

"Then how did Arthur survive?" Gwaine questioned and Merlin sighed in annoyance.

"Well if you would let me finish my story I will tell you." He answered, frowning at the knight, Gwaine sulked as Merlin continued. When Merlin got to the point of going to the Isle of the Blessed and offering his life for Arthur's his men looked at him in horror while the knights of Camelot seemed to see Merlin in a new light. When Merlin told them about Hunith falling ill his knights once again looked horrified.

"I'm going to kill that bitch." Owen growled, gripping his sword. The others, even Richard, nodded in agreement and Merlin chuckled slightly.

"Not to worry Sir Owen, Nimueh is already dead, and if you all would stop interrupting I would get to that." Once again, the group fell silent and Merlin told them of how Gaius had gone in Merlin's stead, this time it was the Camelotians turn to look horrified. Merlin then finally revealed how exactly the scar had gotten on his chest and gasps sounded all around the camp site, Merlin ignored that and continued with the story and when he was finally finished with the tale the group was utterly silent as the stared at Merlin.

"Y-you used the cup of life?" Richard stuttered, his face pale. "But only the priestesses of the Old Religion could do that a-and even then…"

"I didn't really think about it, to be honest, I was angry and feared for Gaius's life, I did what I had to do." the group sat in stunned silence as they all contemplated the story.

"How did you survive that fireball to your chest?" Nathan questioned, final breaking the silence. Merlin shrugged.

"It wasn't all that powerful I suppose." He replied but immediately Richard was shaking his head.

"With a scar that big and someone as powerful as Nimueh is should have easily killed you. If the spell that she used on you is like the one you used during the fight today then you should have died." Merlin frowned at the large knight.

"What do you mean? The spell I used today was the exact one she used on me, I survived, I see no reason that man shouldn't have. Where is he anyway?" Merlin asked, realizing that he hadn't seen the man as a prisoner.

"Dead," Richard responded "the spell killed him, he had a rather large chest wound from where your spell hit him. He likely died on impact." Merlin blinked, stunned.

"Then how-" The young warlock wondered to himself.

"Exactly" Richard responded, solemn.

"What about the others?" James probed. "How did you get the other scars?" and so Merlin continued telling the story of each of his scars. Upon arriving to the scar that the serket sting had left, Richard interrupted.

"That's a serket sting, isn't it?" he asked, pointing to the scar that Merlin had been about to discuss. Merlin nodded in conformation and everyone waited silently for the king to explain. After the story was told and Owen had muttered a time or two about slaughtering Morgana Merlin noticed Robert and Richard both staring at him in alarm.

"What?" Merlin asked, puzzled.

"We have both watched a man die from a serket sting." Richard answered, looking like he was going to be sick "And if you truly suffered for as long as you said then you must have been in agonizing pain, we were forced to give the man mercy after only two hours, you suffered much longer than that."

Merlin shrugged uncomfortably and continued with his stories. When Merlin was out of scars to tell stories about the group sat silently in an awkward silence as they all pondered over everything Merlin had done for Arthur and Camelot. By now it was very late and the majority of men that had come with Robert had retired for the night.

"It's late we should all go to bed," Leon stated, ever the voice of reason, "we can talk more another time."

"Wait." Gwaine said, holding up his hand "I have one more question." Everyone looked at the knight expectantly as he turned his gaze to Merlin.

"Merlin, when did you get muscles?" he asked staring at Merlin's arms, which were much more muscled than one could really tell when he had his shirt on. Merlin glared at him, annoyed.

"Well, being Arthur's servant certainly helped, dragging his armor around and filling his bath every day builds muscles pretty quickly." He said, pulling on a shirt to hide his chest.

"You were a servant?!" Robert asked, angry.

"To Arthur Pendragon?!" Alaric chimed in, equally shocked. Merlin rubbed his head, a headache was forming and he just wanted to just rest.

"Yes, I couldn't exactly tell him who I was and I had to provide for me and my mother somehow. Besides that, it gave me an opportunity to protect and guide Arthur." He answered, exhausted. The two seemed to grudgingly accept this and Merlin looked back at Gwaine who had his hand out, signaling another question.

"One more question Merlin," Gwaine said, "with all your magic is possible that you could create a never-ending mug of ale?" he asked, his face grave. Merlin gaped at him in bewilderment.

"Of all the questions you could have asked, that's what you want to know?! If I can make a never-ending mug of ale!" Gwaine shrugged in response.

"It's important, besides all the other questions were answered already"

"What were you expecting Merlin, it's Gwaine half his thoughts are about alcohol, women, and fighting," Leon said, shaking his head. Elyan snorted in response.

"Try all of them." He laughed, soon the rest of the group joined in and the conversation soon devolved into laughter and jokes.

 ***Unknown POV***

A little ways away from the laughing group two knights stood silently, watching the party.

"I don't like how they treat him." One of them grumbled, scowling.

"What do you mean?" asked the second, shorter knight.

"They treat him as a friend, he is our King and they aren't worthy of even looking at him, let alone being friends with him. And did you hear them earlier? Calling him by his first name, I should cut their disrespectful tongues out." He growled, his voice filled with hate and malice.

"So? What are you going to do about it? He's the king and if we attack his friends we'll be punished." The shorter one said, frowning at his comrade. The first knight smirked at him.

"I was hoping you would ask that."

 **-LB: I'M BACK!- LB: I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF MY FANS WHO DEMANDED MY RETURN- AN: Three people, three people requested your continuation/said they like/love you-LB: still Thank you to my lovely fans- AN: *Coughs* three *coughs*-LB: *Glares at me-**

 ***Arthur POV***

He was dreaming again. He and the knights were hunting, Merlin was with them only this time something was off about the servant. He was standing regally and seemed to radiate power. Arthur focused on him, confused. He didn't have long to look too far into it however as suddenly the knights disappeared and he and Merlin were once again standing in the white void. This time, however, Merlin turned to Arthur, a stern expression on his face; his regal posture only seemed to grow. Merlin's gaze peered into his, seeming to pierce his very soul, Merlin opened his mouth to speak when there was a sudden flash of bright light and Arthur was forced to turn away. When he looked back he saw that Merlin had disappeared and where Merlin had been standing the white light had replaced him. The feeling of power that came from the light made Arthur weak at the knees, and when three figures appeared it was all the blond could do to keep from dropping to the ground as the power increased. The figures were just blurs though and he couldn't make much out besides they were human shaped. The three voices from his first dream began again, only this time they seemed annoyed.

"Arthur Pendragon," The maiden said.

"This is your second warning." The woman picked up

"Accept magic, or Camelot will fall, you along with it." The old crone warned.

"You are running out of time Young King." The young maiden reported, sorrow filling her gentle voice.

"Soon it will be too late." Called the mother.

"And you will fail in your destiny." The hag promised.

"You will receive one more warning from us young Pendragon," the maid said, her voice full of foreboding.

If you ignore us a third time…" the woman trailed off.

"There will be dire consequences." The crone finished. The three then joined voices, the thousands of men, women, and children from before joining in.

"Heed our words young Pendragon, or lose all you hold dear."

Arthur awoke in a cold sweat and gasped for breath as he sat up, the hard ground reminding him where he was and what he had set out to do. Realizing there was no way he was getting back to sleep, he rose from his bed roll and threw on a tunic. Grabbing Excalibur, he left the tent. The young knight who was unfortunate enough to have the night watch rose from where he was sitting and bowed.

"Sire, is there something you need?" he asked, face and voice full of concern. Arthur shook his head.

"No, I'm just going for a walk, I'm having trouble sleeping."

"Allow me to go with you sire." He said, stepping forward. Arthur shook his head.

"I can protect myself, you need to watch the camp." He replied, walking away, the young man seemed reluctant to let his king go alone into the woods but obeyed and didn't follow him, for which Arthur was grateful.

Arthur found a log a little way into the woods and sat on it, putting his head in his hands. What did his dreams mean? Were they just dreams or were they, something else? What else could they be? Messages? From who? And how? Why had Merlin appeared like that? What was he going to say before he disappeared? What did those figures mean, his destiny? What destiny? Arthur's head ached from the massive amount of questions whirling around in his head. He stayed there until the sun peaked out from behind the trees and he knew that if he didn't head back his men would worry. Sighing he stood and walked back to camp silently pondering the meaning behind the dreams.

 ***Meanwhile Elsewhere***

 ***Merlin POV***

Merlin rolled over, unable to find a comfortable sleeping position and sighed. He was too nervous, they would reach Aria in the morning and Merlin wasn't ready yet. Dressing quickly, he walked out of the small tent that had been set up for him. He had tried to refuse the tent at first but no one would listen. The Knight who was on watch rose to his feet as soon as he caught sight of Merlin and bowed.

"Is there something I can help you with my lord?" he asked, walking towards him. Merlin shook his head.

"No, I simply can't sleep, I'm going for a walk, no need to worry." He answered, walking towards the woods.

"Do you want me to with you sire? The woods can be dangerous and your uncle's men could still be out there." He said, walking towards the young warlock. Merlin shook his head again.

"You stay here and watch the camp. I can protect myself." The knight nodded reluctantly, wary of letting his new-found king go into the woods by himself. Merlin felt slightly guilty but was none the less grateful when the man obeyed his orders and stayed at the camp site. Walking a bit into the woods he soon found a boulder and plopped down on it, putting his chin in his hand.

What was he going to say to his council? What would he say to his people? Was he truly ready for the burdens of being king? How was he going to protect Arthur and his kingdom? How was he going to defeat his uncle? How did his uncle know the truth about his father? What was his uncle hiding? Merlin's head pounded with these questions as he waited for sunrise. When it finally arrived he heaved a sigh as he stood and made his way back to camp. It was time to go to Aria, whether he was ready or not.

 **-AN: So I had a scene written for this next part but then stuff happened and it didn't fit anymore *cough cough ROBERT*-LB: HEY! This is my time, not yours!-AN: oh hush- LB: *pouts***

 ***Merlin POV***

Merlin could feel his heart racing as they rode closer and closer to Aria. He wasn't sure what he would say to the council and to his people. There was no hiding the fact that his father died now, and that meant he would soon be crowned King and the thought terrified him. Despite what Richard had said he wasn't sure that he would be a good king, he was only 13 when his uncle had attacked, he hadn't received the lessons he was meant to from his father. But perhaps being so close to Arthur all these years might help him. His thoughts were cut short as the gates of Aria loomed in the distance.

Richard and Robert both rode to one side of him, as it had turned out many of the knights that had gone with Robert had horses, they had been hidden during the ambush but taken to the camp the night before. Behind Richard rode the Knights of Camelot behind Robert rode Owen, Nathan, the twins, and Alaric. Ahead and to the side of the group the remaining Knights of Aria rode and bringing up the rear walked the soldiers, carrying the wounded and dead on stretchers.

When the guards at the gate caught sight of the group they called to the men manning it and the gate was swung open. Two of the Knights at the front of the traveling party nodded respectfully to Merlin before urging their horses forward. The two quickly made it to the gate and began speaking to the men there, pointing towards the approaching King. By now they were close enough to see the guards and make out expressions on their faces, expressions of shock at the report from the knight. A moment later and Merlin was passing through the gates, the guards kneeling as he passed. And so, after 8 long years, Merlin entered Aria. He was home.

 **AN: I told you they would reach Aria, I just didn't say how far into it they would go *evil smirk*. Gwaine headcannon/rant ahead and please review!**

 **I went to fact check in Diamond of the Day twice now and both times I ended up just watching a lot of both of them and I just can't *Curls into ball and sobs* *Spoilers for last episodes ahead if you haven't seen it* I have a headcannon that Gwaine knew the truth about Merlin the entire time. Cause Gwaine would never have let Merlin go in the cave without someway to protect himself and when he saves Merlin's life from the bandits and Merlin thanks him he says "It's the least I could do" and while he may be reffering to Merlin saving Eira I don't think so, I feel like there's a hidden meaning there. And then when they are saying goodbye Gwaine kinda straightens up in salute to him, like he knew everything Merlin had done and was thankful to him. And then if you look there are tears in Gwaine's eyes and I just can't anymore. When Gwaine first died my brain refused to accept it to the point where a few months later I had completely forgotton and I was reading facniction and someone was like "I know Gwaine died but…" cause in there fic he hadn't died. I was jsut like wait what? And I had to rewatch it… I still refuse to accept the glorious man's death, I will, maintain that Percival somehow got Gwaine back to Camelot till the day I die.**

 **P.S. don't forget to tell me what you think of the cover!**


	24. Chapter 24

**AN: I am cold, sick, and tired. I am extremely stressed about some stuff and that includes this chapter. This chapter is the entire reason I went on that 8 month hiatus (sorry btw). I am moving into my apartment tomorrow and starting my sophomore year of college on Wednesday. But dang it I am posting this tonight. This chapter gave me quite a bit of trouble and I struggled immensely through it, it was only due to one of my most dedicated readers JoanneSBlack that I actually got through this chapter. She gave me several pieces of advice and when I had written it and thought it was awful she looked it over for me. SO this chapter is in dedication to her. Thank you Joanne and I want you to know that you are a major reason I didn't just ditch this story.**

 **Longest chapter so far at 4,736 words!**

 **Enjoy guys and I know I say this a lot but especially on this chapter please please review, I'm so nervous about this one.**

As Merlin rode into the city he was greeted with the sight of the towns people beginning the day. Vendors setting up their wares, women making their way to the market to begin early, their husbands leaving their homes to go to the fields. Knights and guards walking to their posts, and blacksmiths lighting their forges. Little children met up with their friends and began playing. There were many druids too, selling healing potions and poultice. The young king was filled with warmth at the use of magic by the towns people

The second Merlin's horse set foot in the market place the druids began looking up, sensing him, expressions of shock and awe on their faces. The druids stopped what they were doing and looked to the young warlock. The others in the market began turning to see what had drawn their attention and many of the older citizens, who had likely been there during his father's reign recognized him. The gasped when they saw him, and soon they were whispering to their younger neighbors, explaining to them exactly who had just walked into the city. Richard and Robert spurred their horses forward, riding in front their king, making a way through the crowd that was gathering, the knights who had been riding in front of the group had ridden ahead to the citadel to warn them of who had returned.

Many of the druids bowed or knelt as he passed, as did many of the towns people. Merlin rode, back straight and smiling gently at the people he passed, waving here and there. Whispers had quickly broken out among the people and now the crowd was getting bigger as people came out of their homes to see what the commotion was about. Merlin knew that by noon the entire city would know that he was back. Some people gasped in fear when they saw the Knights of Camelot but when they realized that none of the Arian Knights were worried they calmed down, though most still eyed the men warily. Suddenly a voice rang out from the crowd.

"The Prince had returned!" it cried. "Long Live Prince Merlin!" soon, the cry became a chant as the people picked it and the city was filled with the call of "Long Live Prince Merlin!" Or "Long Live the Prince!" Merlin thought he also heard a voice call "Long Live House Ambrosius!". The guards and knights filled the sides around the young king, keeping the crowds back. Finally, they reached the gates to the citadel, by now the knights who had ridden ahead had convinced the men to open the gates, and the gates lay open, knights on either side swiftly moved aside to let them pass.

Merlin and the group rode into the large open court yard, the knights at the back of the large group falling behind to keep the crowds back. *The court yard was designed so that the King could consult with a dragon, the House of Ambrosius had always ruled Aria and it had always been a lineage of Dragon Lords. The young king rode to the center of the court and he dismounted, The Knights of Camelot did the same and Richard, his knights and Robert quickly followed suit. The crowd that had gathered in the courtyard once the news had spread stared in shock and awe. Joy was spread on many faces, curiosity on others. Merlin turned to Richard.

"I just want our original party coming with me, Robert may come as well." He said, and Richard nodded, disappearing to relay the message. Merlin turned back to the waiting crowd of guards, knights, and servants. He was painfully aware of his clothes which displayed a status of servitude and were covered in filth from the weeks of travel. Before he could say anything, however, Richard returned.

"We need to alert the council of your return" he whispered in his ear "you can address your people soon." Merlin nodded in agreement, happy to not have to make a speech to these people quite yet, though he would now have to make one to his council. Richard and Robert walked one step behind him as he walked with all the confidence he could muster towards the doors to the castle. The others followed behind. Merlin didn't miss the glares that were sent in the direction of the Knights of Camelot or the hands that had gone to their swords at the sight of the red clad knights. The others didn't miss it either, eying the Arian Knights wearily. As they passed one particularly stunned looking knight Merlin could have sworn he heard Richard mutter "I told you I would find him" but Merlin dismissed it, there were more important matters.

As Merlin walked through the halls he couldn't help but admire the architecture. The tall walls were polished white stone, gleaming in the early day sun. Royal blue tapestries hung every so often, the dragon of the House of Ambrosius stitched into it in silver. Exquisite paintings hung in between the banners. The castle itself had carvings in the wall, they told the stories of battles and wars fought and won, heroes who fell for their kingdom and the evil they defeated. Plenty of walls were still blank, ready for more stories and heroes. Heavy tapestries also hung from the walls in a few of the hallways they passed through, telling stories and fables, some even told prophecies about events that had long since come to pass and events yet to come. In one corridor they passed, large marble statues of long dead kings stood proudly, looking down at the men as they passed them.

The guards stationed in the halls stared as they passed and servants stopped what they were doing, Merlin could feel himself getting increasingly nervous. A slight bump in his arm told him Richard was there, no matter what happened in the next few minutes. He took a deep breath and released it slowly as they rounded the corner and say the doors to the council. At the doors two of the knights who had been sent ahead were arguing with the guards, the four had not yet spotted the group.

"You have to let us through." One of them was saying, aggravation clear in his voice.

"I'm sorry sirs but the council specifically instructed that no one be let in, only Sir Robert is to be allowed to enter." One of the guards said, the poor man was obviously anxious at standing up to a knight. The Knight growled.

"We have urgent news for the council and-" he began but Merlin cut him off.

"If the issue is that Sir Robert is not here then that problem is solved, isn't it Sir Robert?" he asked, turning to the man. The guards at the door looked at him in confusion but the Knights hastily bowed and Robert nodded.

"Indeed it is _My Lord_." He said, emphasizing the last two words to get the point across to the two men guarding the doors. Instantly the guards paled and bowed.

"Forgive us, sire," the one on the left said, "We didn't know you had returned."

"All is forgiven, now, I believe it is time to address my counsel, if you would please open the doors." Merlin replied, his tone kind. The guards hesitated a second longer but quickly heaved the doors open. The men inside stopped talking and looked up. Merlin strode into the room and looked at the men at the table. Some he recognized, others he did not, they were likely new men who replaced those on the council that had died. One of the younger council members who Merlin didn't recognize stood up. The tall man had dark brown hair and handsome, hard features.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked, his voice booming. "You two were instructed to allow no one in." he said, glaring at the guards, who backed away from the powerful man.

"I instructed them differently," Merlin said, calm.

"And who are you to make such an order?" he asked, equally as calm, though his tone held a hint of danger in it. Merlin could immediately tell this man would make a dangerous enemy or a very powerful ally

"My name is Merlin Ambrosius." He answered "and you?" he asked the man. The nobleman looked remarkably calm though a flash of surprise had crossed his face.

"Lord Malcolm," he replied, "My lord." He finished a second later, bowing slightly. The rest of the council quickly rose and bowed.

"Prince Merlin," said one of the noble men, an older man who Merlin recognized to be Lord Gransley "We did not expect your return." He said, nervous at the sight of the Knights of Camelot, he had likely realized that the fact that those men were with Merlin meant he had sent men to attack his prince.

"Indeed, though I can't exactly say I enjoyed the welcome party." Merlin answered, shooting a knowing glance at the lord.

"Forgive me, sire." He said "we did not know you were with the Knights of Camelot and feared them hostile, we were only told the Knights of Camelot were approaching and that there may have been ten of them, the villager who warned us had not seen Sir Richard and his men. We feared they meant to harm us and acted in defense of Aria."

"With only 10 knights you feared them to want to attack an entire kingdom?" Merlin questioned, doubt obvious in his voice.

"I-" the Lord said, realizing what he had suggested he thought, now Merlin know the man could either continue with the lie and make himself look foolish or admit the truth and admit that the true reason he sent the man to attack was because he hated any Knight of Camelot. During this Lord Malcolm was eyeing the young king, seemingly impressed. Eventually, Lord Gransley sighed in defeat. "Forgive me, my prince." He said and Merlin nodded, satisfied. Another nobleman spoke up then, another of his father's men.

"Sire?" he asked and Merlin turned to him "I mean no offense but I am sure that everyone is wondering, where have you been all these years?" he asked, curiosity filling his voice, those around him nodded, signaling that they too wanted to know where the prince had been for so long.

Merlin sighed wearily. "That, my lord, is a long story, one that I am far too tired to tell at the moment. But in short, I have been in Camelot for six years, before that I was in Ealdor, a small village in the kingdom of Essitir." He answered and gasps went up around the room, the only ones who didn't make some noise of surprise were the men that he had arrived with and Lord Malcolm, who was looking at him in a calculating way.

"How did you end up in Camelot?!" questioned another nobleman and they all eagerly looked at him.

"As I said, my Lords, it is a long story and I am too tired to tell it, it has been a long journey and I wish to get out of these clothes, bathe and rest." He said, running a tired hand through his hair, the men at the table then noticed his clothing and looked at each other. Why was their prince in such ragged clothing?

"Of course, sire." Lord Malcolm cut in, cutting off any protests "You must rest, I'm sure it has been a long journey and there is much to discuss, but that can wait until tomorrow when you are well rested." His voice was kind but Merlin could tell he wasn't doing this purely for his benefit, in some way the noblemen would benefit from the extra day as well. The rest of the noblemen reluctantly agreed and bid them farewell, promising to answer their questions the next day.

As they walked away from the throne room Richard called a servant over and talked to him for a minute, the servant bowed in Merlin's direction before hurrying off.

The young king raised an eyebrow at the knight.

"I instructed him to prepare 4 guest rooms and to fetch the tailor." He said, answering the silent question. A servant came up at that moment.

"Sire," he said, bowing "if you would permit it I will show the" here he hesitated a look of fear crossed his face "Knights of Camelot to their rooms." Merlin nodded and the man bowed once more before walking over to the knights, a moment later the four bid them all a good day and followed the servant. The Knights of Aria soon did the same, leaving Merlin and Robert alone.

"the tailor?" the king questioned. Richard looked at him skeptically.

"Surely you don't plan on speaking to the council tomorrow in that?" Merlin blushed slightly "I thought so, you are king Merlin, it is time you dressed like one." He said, lowering his voice when he said king, highly aware that the entire castle didn't know yet.

Merlin sighed but nodded, however much he hated to admit it Richard was right, he couldn't dress like he usually did anymore. The two began walking down the hallway in front of them.

"Tomorrow I will have the royal blacksmith measure you for chain mail and armor, we should also get you a sword." He said and Merlin nodded in agreement again.

"Very well, I suppose both of those are important." He said, turning a corner, suddenly he stopped.

"What's wrong?" Richard asked, concern written on his face.

"I just- I haven't been in my room since…" Richard nodded.

"I understand, if you wish we can put you in another set of rooms." He offered but Merlin shook his head.

"No, no it will be fine, though I suspect my chambers may be a little dusty." He chuckled. Richard smiled in return.

"I had them cleaned when I left, they should be perfectly suitable." He said and Merlin looked at him in thanks.

"Thank you, were you really so confident I would be found?" he asked, surprised that Richard had gone to the trouble of making sure his chambers would be ready for him.

"I knew someone would and I knew it was more likely for you to be with Gaius." He answered, shrugging.

Finally, the two arrived at his chamber doors, on the floor were two blood stains, the stains told a story of a battle long past and Merlin couldn't help the memories that welled, he felt a lump in his throat form as he thought of the knight who had died in front of his chambers all those years ago, and the man who had done it. Richard rested a hand on the younger man's shoulder, staring at the stain as well.

"We will avenge him, we will avenge them all."

Merlin nodded, his determination rising. "Yes, we will, and when we do my uncle will know exactly how big of a mistake he made. He never should have angered me, he never should have attacked my home." The powerful warlock felt a rage that he had only felt a few times in his life, a rage so powerful that he feared the day it would be released. "He will regret having ever even thought of betraying my father." He vowed.

"Indeed he will my lord," Richard said and the two stood for in silence for another moment. "You should go in, the tailor will be here soon, I will send a servant to draw you a bath and get some clean clothes for you, they may not fit perfectly but at least you'll be out of those." Merlin fingered the neckerchief around his neck and nodded.

"You should rest as well, you were traveling twice as long as me." He shot back and Richard shook his head.

"There is too much to do, I will sleep tonight." Merlin frowned.

"At least go to the physician and have him look at your wounds, tell him the details of your wounds and the spell that hit you as well, I don't want any unknown side effects popping up." Richard chuckled but agreed.

"Very well, but only if you get looked at as well." Merlin glared but eventually gave in.

"Fine, I'll go to him tomorrow."

"Rest well, my lord, the next few weeks will be long ones." Richard said, bowing deeply.

"You as well Sir Richard, I will be needing you at your best." The knight smiled and nodded before bowing again and turning on his heel and walking away, in the direction of the barracks. Merlin rolled his eyes, he just hoped the man would go to the physician at some point. Turning back to his chamber doors he reached a hand towards the handle. The doors themselves were made of deep brown wood, carved with dragons on the edges, smooth in the middle. As his shaking hand grabbed the handle and pulled Merlin couldn't help but think of the last time he had entered the room.

*Flashback Begin*

 _The Prince walked beside his father as the two walked back to their respective chambers for the night, their guards walked a respectful distance behind them, silent._

" _I look forward to the celebrations tomorrow father." The prince said, excited for the annual spring festival._

" _Me too my boy, it will be the first time you take part in a tournament, I trust you will make me proud." The king beamed at his son. The two reached the Prince's chambers. "Remember son, no matter what happens, your mother and I love you and are very proud of the young man you are becoming."_

" _Thank you, father," Merlin said, beaming up at the king. "I'll make you proud."_

" _I'm sure you will my boy, I'm sure you will my boy, I'm sure you will."_

" _Goodnight father." The young man said, opening the door to his chambers._

" _Goodnight son." He replied, both unaware that everything was about to change._

*Flashback End*

Merlin entered his chambers and felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him as he looked around. The room was larger than even Arthur's room in Camelot. Blue draping hung from the windows and the large bed in the center of the room. To the left was a particularly large window that looked out at the court yard below to the right was a changing area with a bath to the left and a finely carved wardrobe to the right.

The handles were carved into the head of a roaring lion and on the doors of it were images of four wooden thrones. The wardrobe had been there as long as he could remember really, he had once asked his father about it but even he had been confused as to where it had come from. Dismissing the odd thing he went over and sat on the bed. It was just as soft as he remembered but now that he was bigger it seemed smaller, though still very large.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts and he went to answer it, opening the door he saw a short, rotund man standing there, a measuring tape in his hand and several bolts of cloth in the arms of a young man that stood behind him. The young reminded him of himself when he first arrived in Camelot, tall and skinny, though this man seemed rather timid, Merlin assumed he was the tailor's assistant, as it was rather obvious who the first man was. Both men bowed deeply when they saw him.

"Sire," said the rotund man, straightening, the young man behind him straightened as well "I am here to measure you for some clothes." He said, holding up the measuring tape as if to prove what he had said. Merlin nodded and stepped to the side as he opened the door wider.

"Of course, please come in." the two entered at the invitation and Merlin couldn't help but noticed the servant looking nervously around the room. Dismissing it, Merlin closed the door and walked to his dressing area.

"Whenever you're ready we will begin, your highness." The tailor said, following the prince, Merlin nodded and they began. After several minutes of being measured and the tailor bustling around him, lifting his arms and measuring them, wrapping the tape around his waist and chest and muttering numbers to himself the tailor stepped back, nodding in satisfaction.

"Very well, now we must decide on fabrics." He said and so he began pulling the bolts of fabric away from his servant, holding a swath of it up to Merlin before tisking and putting it away. Only on a few colors did he seem satisfied, among them were the deep royal blue of the Ambrosius house and a deep red color. When the pile of cloth was all gone the tailor scooped the bolts up and shoved them back into his assistant's arms, who hadn't spoken a word the entire time.

"I will have some clothes prepared by tomorrow morning Prince Merlin." He said, bowing and Merlin nodded.

"Thank you, I trust they will be wonderful." He said, guiding them to the door. Opening it he allowed the other two out and after they bowed again and left, he closed the door behind them, he breathed a sigh of relief as he rested against the door, now he just needed to be alone. Staring down at his filthy clothes he grimaced in disgust before pulling the tunic over his head, he threw the filthy garment into a corner of the room and made his way to the bath. Looking into the large mirror that stood beside the bath he inspected himself. It had been a long time since he had been able to look at himself in a mirror, he was a servant in Camelot and couldn't afford such a luxury. Staring into the mirror he was shocked at how much he had changed. Looking at himself he finally realized why his knights had been so shocked at his scars, seeing them in a mirror was different somehow, he could see them all at once now and he realized how many he truly had. He also noticed that his shoulders were broader, idly he noted that Gwaine had been right, he had gotten muscles, not muscles like Percival but he was much more toned and defined. His cheek bones were less prominent, his face more rounded. He didn't look like the young boy that had fled his home, he looked like a man, he looked like a King.

Sighing he turned back to the bath. Just as he was about to magically fill the tub there was a knock at the door. Merlin, grumbling to himself about too many interuptions, made his way to the door, he opened it, forgetting that he was still shirtless. Opening the door, he saw a young man there, a servant. Behind him stood two knights, both fully armored. The stared at him in shock as he opened the door, his scars prominent as the sun coming from the window hit him.

 ***Lord Malcolm POV***

Lord Malcolm moved swiftly down the hallway, his stride powerful and his black cape fluttering behind him, looking to make sure no one was in the hallway he turned into an abandoned corridor. He turned into an alcove and waited. A few seconds later he heard a pair of footsteps approach from the opposite direction. The steps got closer and closer until finally they turned the corner into the alcove.

"What happened? What did you find out?" the nobleman asked the knight who had just appeared. The knight frowned at the greeting but answered the man anyway.

"We were going to attack when Sir Richard was spotted, so we blocked the road instead. We surprised and surrounded them. The prince's face was hidden from us so we didn't know what happened." The Knight reported, the noblemen rolled his eyes.

"Enough of the play by play, I'll be told that tomorrow I'm sure, I want to know the important things." The knight huffed but complied.

"The prince is no longer a prince, he is king, King Balinor is dead. What's more is that the Dark King's soldier knew the truth, he told us and the king confirmed it, though he doesn't know how the soldier knew. His magic has grown more powerful too, it was… he did magic without a spell." He reported, his voice filled with awe. Lord Malcolm pondered this, how did the boy have such powerful magic? Was he really king? What happened to King Balinor? What did it mean that the Dark King knew the truth?

"There's something else," the Knight said, interrupting the nobleman's musings. The Lord noticed the discomfort in the man's voice.

"What is it?" he asked, eager for something he could use.

"He has scars, lots of them. No one's sure of how he got them, though some of us think he told the men who went with him to the council meeting this morning, they were talking late into the night last night. A-and the Knights of Camelot treat him like a friend, call him by his first name, he seems protective of them as well."

"You've done well." The councilmember said, handing the knight a small pouch, filled with gold coins. "If you discover anything else come to me at once.

"Yes, my lord." The knight said, taking the gold, and disappearing into the corridor, his footsteps quickly fading away.

"Well then _King_ Merlin, what are you hiding?" the man wondered aloud.

 ***Richard POV***

Richard swept down the hallway, having just left his king in his chambers. Walking into the barracks the men immediately rose to their feet or stopped what they were doing, saluting him.

"Sir," one of the knights said, surprise showing on his face "When did you get back?" he asked, his voice holding another question in it, one Richard was sure the rest of the men wanted to ask as well. So they hadn't heard yet, interesting.

"I got back a little bit ago, I had something to attend to first he answered, refusing to give the men what they wanted without a direct question.

"Did you find him?" someone finally asked and Richard turned to the knight, everyone listened eagerly.

"Yes, our Prince has returned." He replied and cheers went up around the room, knights clapped each other on the back and laughed in relief. After a moment of celebration, Richard pointed to two of his most trusted knights, besides Alaric and those who had traveled with him to find Merlin, motioning them forward.

"Prince Merlin is resting now and while his magic is strong he is still royalty and needs to be protected. I want you two to guard his chambers until I personally assign guards, I will bring them myself, do not leave your post until then and let no one enter except the servant I send. When you get there tell him you're there, he should still be up." He ordered and the two men nodded, saluted him, and both men quickly put on their capes and their swords and walked out the door.

Richard left a minute after and went to the servant's quarters finally he spotted the man he was looking for.

"Andrew!" he called and the said servant looked up, seeing Richard he jumped up and walked over, bowing slightly when he stopped in front of the head knight.

"Sir," he greeted "What can I do for you?" he asked, tilting his head to the side slightly in curiosity.

"I am assigning you to be Prince Merlin's manservant." He answered and the man looked at him in shock.

"Me- me?" he stuttered, "But why me, surely, surely there's someone better than me- more- more experienced than me."

"Perhaps but no servant is more loyal or trustworthy than you, I trust his care to no one else." Richard replied and the servant puffed his chest in pride.

"Thank you, sir, I will prove you right, I swear." He said, passion filling his voice.

"Good, now the prince is in need of a bath, go." The servant hurried off and Richard sighed, exhausted. There was still so much to do but perhaps resting for an hour or two wouldn't hurt.

 **AN: Thanks for reading, hope y'all enjoyed. Sorry LB didn't make an appearance in this chapter just not feeling up to it.**

 ***This idea came from JessieJay13 who wrote To Be a King which is a really great fic and y'all should read it, I have acquired permission to use some of her ideas and will note when I use one.**

 **Guys I am so worried about this chapter and what you think so please review! May be a bit before I can get the new chapter up but I will try to get it up soon!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Hey Guys so a bit of a shorter chapter this time but I will hopefully post again soon. Chapter 25, wow! Thank you all so much for your support! I've been binge playing oblivion lately so it may be a little bit before I get the next chapter up. Solar Eclipse tomorrow! Make sure you watch it! It should be awesome! Hey, I know I have some readers from the UK are any of you in Scotland? I want to go to Scotland someday, it's a big thing with me, I also really want to go to Germany, anyone from Germany? Anyway you probably want me to shut up now so I will enjoy!**

 **I've been binge playing oblivion lately so it may be a little bit before I get the next chapter up, also college being a thing I am doing might slow it down a bit. Solar Eclipse tomorrow! Make sure you watch it! It should be awesome! Hey, I know I have some readers from the UK are any of you in Scotland? I want to go to Scotland someday, it's a big thing with me, I also really want to go to Germany, anyone from Germany? Anyway you probably want me to shut up now so I will enjoy!**

The Knights and servant stared at Merlin in alarm. His scars showing prominently on his pale skin as the sun seemed to make them bolder and more noticeable. Merlin blushed when he realized why the men were staring. He turned to the shirt that was laying on the floor and his eyes flashed gold.

" _Onbregdan_ " he whispered as the shirt flew to his hand. Merlin slipped the tunic over his head before awkwardly turning back to the men at the door.

"Um, hi." he said seeming unsure of how to address the situation.

"S-sire" said one of the knights that managed to get out. He bowed and the others quickly followed suit.

Looking between the three men nervously, Merlin spoke, "I uh, I've been in a few fights over the years and I didn't always get away without being wounded."

"O-of course my Lord" said the knight who had first spoken, not wishing to pry into his Prince's business. Before he introduced himself, he jabbed the other man in the side making the second knight flush once he realized that he had been gaping at the young royal. The servant lowered his eyes to the floor, not looking at the young royal. Introducing the group, the knight said, "I am Sir Damien and this is Sir Bryce. Sir Richard sent us to guard you until he can assign more permanent guards. This is Andrew, he is to be your manservant."

"Oh well, I'm Merlin. I'm not sure that I really need a manservant to be honest and I can protect myself." The men looked aghast at the idea of their prince not having a servant or maybe at the idea of him not having anyone to protect him; Merlin couldn't be sure.

Not wanting to offend the prince, Damien said carefully, "With all due respect, Your Highness. You are a prince and should have someone to serve you. More importantly, you need someone to protect you."

Merlin sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. He knew he wasn't going to win this fight and he was too tired to put in any effort. Sighing he nodded and motioned the servant in whom was still looking at the floor. The servant walked in and waited silently as the young warlock turned back to the Knights.

Nodding to both men, Merlin said, "Very well, I thank you both for your service and protection. Should anyone need me I am resting and should not to be disturbed." The two knights nodded and bowed slightly before Merlin closed the door.

Turning to the young servant Merlin studied the man. He was a well built, if short man. His hair was a chestnut brown, his hazel eyes matched the neatly parted hair. His clothes were neat and surprisingly unwrinkled. He wore a dark green tunic and brown pants, which while clean were slightly ragged. The man bowed his head when Merlin looked at him, his hands clasped in front of him respectfully.

"What's your name?" Merlin asked kindly.

"Andrew my lord." The servant said quietly.

"Well Andrew you can call me Merlin, and you don't need to be looking at the floor."

"But sire-" the servant said, looking at the young royal in shock, Merlin quickly cut him off.

"No titles, I hate titles, treat me as you would a friend because that is how I want you to view me, as a friend."

"But-but sire," the confused servant argued, "you are the prince, it would be disrespectful for me to not use your title."

"Not if I'm telling you not to," Merlin sighed at the man's expression, one of confusion and slight fear. "I have enough people calling me sire or some other title sometimes it is nice to simply hear my name." the servant nodded hesitantly.

"Very well si- Merlin." The servant quickly corrected himself. "Would you like me to prepare your bath?" he asked and Merlin shook his head.

"I've got it." He replied and before the scandalized servant could say anything his eyes flashed gold and the tub was filled with steaming water. Merlin looked to the servant and saw that the man was staring at him in astonishment.

"You- you didn't cast a spell!" he exclaimed, jaw hanging open.

"You would be surprised at the power I have." Merlin shrugged. "Though, I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone that." He added as an afterthought.

"Of- of course, sire," the servant said, bowing. Merlin shot him a look. "Sorry Si- Merlin. I will try and find some clean clothes for when you are done bathing." He said, walking to the door. Merlin could tell he was restraining himself from bowing. There was a knock at the door just as Andrew reached it. The young man looked to Merlin hesitantly who stared at the door in confusion, his brow furrowed. Hadn't he told the guards he was not to be disturbed?

Merlin nodded to the servant and the servant opened the door to see the two knights on guard duty trying to pull Sir Nathan back from the door.

"You can't go in Nathan!" said one of them, pulling on one of the knight's arms, the strain audible in his voice, the other knight pulled on the other arm.

"But I need to give him-" Nathan cut himself off at the sight of the servant and Merlin walking up behind him. The Knights huffed in annoyance as they released the now complacent knight.

"Sorry sire," Sir Damien said, shooting a glare at Nathan. "we tried to tell him you were not to be disturbed but he wouldn't listen."

"It's fine." Merlin replied, waving away the knight's worries, "What's wrong Nathan?" he asked, looking at his friend in concern.

"Nothing," he replied, straightening his clothes, which had become wrinkled in the scuffle "I just wanted to give you some clean clothes that may fit you." He said, holding up a bundle of clothes that he had been holding. "They're my old ones and should fit you, at least until the tailor finishes with some more appropriate clothing anyway." Merlin smiled at the kind knight before accepting the gift.

"Thank you, Nathan I appreciate it, however next time please don't fight your way past the guards." The knight blushed but nodded. "Now if you all would excuse me I wish to bathe and rest." Andrew bowed before finally leaving the room, the others bowed as well and Merlin closed the door.

Turning back to his room he sighed in relief at finally being alone again. He put the clean bundle of clothes on the bed so he could change into them. Merlin stripped his dirty clothes off as he walked to the bath, letting them fall to the floor, he could worry about them later. He carefully unwound the bandage around his upper left arm, the scratch from the crossbow had already begun healing, his magic helped him heal much faster than most. He stepped into the bath, the hot water immediately soothing his aching feet and he lowered himself further into the tub. The hot water was heavenly against his aching bones and he moaned as it eased the soreness that he now felt all over, the weeks of riding had not been gentle. He lay in the tub for what felt like forever, simply letting the water ease his aches and pains as well as his worries, allowing himself to relax for what felt like the first time in years. After some time he grabbed the bar of soap that sat on the edge of the tub and began to scrub the weeks of dirt and blood off. After a good fifteen minutes of scrubbing Merlin finally felt clean, he looked at the water which was now a muddy brown color and wrinkled his nose in disgust. Standing up he grabbed one of the towels that sat on a small table nearby, he wrapped it around himself as he stepped out of the tub.

Walking over to the bed he grabbed the clothes, he quickly dressed and was pleasantly surprised at how well they fit. Finally climbing into the large bed Merlin smiled in satisfaction at the soft mattress and fluffy pillows, it had been far too long since he had been in such a comfortable bed, it felt foreign now but he quickly fell asleep, too exhausted to stay awake any longer.

 **-LB: Hey! Why did you leave me out last chapter? *pouts*- AN: I was too tired, I'm sorry- LB: *pouts in corner*-AN: *Sigh*-**

 ***Arthur POV***

Arthur rode in front of his knights, Sir Bedivere rode beside him. The knights laughed and joked with each other but Arthur could tell they were nervous, who wouldn't be after all? They were marching to a kingdom filled with sorcerers to demand their friends back with only 50 knights, if something went wrong they would all die. Bedivere was silent as he rode next to his king and Arthur didn't bother trying to make conversation, too busy puzzling over the dreams he kept having. Why did that figure keep insisting that he accept magic? What would happen when he didn't? Arthur growled in confusion and anger.

"Is something wrong my lord?" Bedivere asked, looking at his king in concern. Arthur shook his head.

"No, it's nothing, I'm frustrated at Merlin is all." He lied.

"What has that foolish servant done this time?" the knight asked, anger lining his voice. Arthur shot him a glare.

"Don't call him that, only I can insult him." He said and the knight flushed but nodded.

"Sorry sire, what did he do?" he asked again.

"He has run off to Aria to help the knights, and after I save him I'm going to kill him. Maybe I'll just throw him in the stocks for a month." He mused and the knight beside him chuckled but said nothing as he did not want to be reprimanded by his king a second time.

"So, what are you planning when we get there?" he asked instead. Arthur was prepared for this question as when he hadn't been worrying over the dreams he had instead been thinking about what would happen when they got to Aria.

"We can't simply demand their return, if I can avoid any confrontation I want to try. I am going to take a small group of knights into Aria and try to find Merlin and the others. You and the rest of the knights will stay hidden nearby and if I don't return in 24 hours you are to return to Camelot and alert the Queen of what happened." The knight stared at him in horror.

"But sire you could be killed!" he objected. "allow me to lead the group in your stead sire, that way if we are captured you are not in danger."

"No, I have lead more renascence missions than you."

"But My Lord-"

"I gave you my decision Sir Bedivere, do not test me today."

"Yes, sire." The knight answered, still unhappy about the decision. They rode in silence the rest of the day. The knights behind them gradually grew quieter as the day drew on and they grew tired from the long hours of riding. They soon stopped for the night and the camp was quickly set up. He was sitting in his tent eating the stew on of his men had brought him when he heard a rustling at the entrance to the tent. He looked up and one of his younger knights stood there, Sir Gavin, if he remembered correctly. The young man shuffled uncomfortably under the king's gaze.

"What do you need?" he asked.

"I um- I heard that you will be leading a party into Aria, and I- I wanted to volunteer to go with you." The knight said, meeting his gaze. Arthur rose from his seat and inspected the man, he was smaller than most of Arthur's knight's making him perfect for such a mission, Arthur also vaguely remembered the man being extremely light on his feet.

"Why do you want to come on this trip? Surely you are aware of how dangerous it will be?"

"I am aware of the danger My Lord, I wish to come because I want to prove myself to you and I believe my size will be able to aid you in this mission."

"Well, at least you're honest." Arthur said, studying the man "very well, you can come but you must follow every order exactly as I say and you must do it immediately."

"Yes, sire, of course, sire." Sir Gavin said, bowing hastily. "thank you, sire, I won't let you down." He said eagerly, excited to prove himself to his king.

"I trust you won't," Arthur said and waved his hand in dismissal, the knight quickly left, leaving the king alone to his thoughts once again.

 **-Line break passing through- LB: *trips* Ah!*- AN: *Snorts*- LB: *pouts* it's not funny.-**

Merlin woke with the sun, the light peeking in between the curtains and shining onto him. He groaned and rolled over, not wanting to get up yet. After another minute or two and having still not fallen asleep again he rose from his bed. Stretching he walked over to the large window and threw the curtains open to look at the silent courtyard below.

After several minutes of watching servants began to trickle into the courtyard, on their way to begin the day, Knights and guards followed, on their way to take their shifts. Merlin heard the door creak open and he turned to see Andrew walk in. The young servant startled at the sight of him up and about.

"Sire." He said, bowing "My apologies, I didn't realize you were awake, I should have been here sooner."

"Don't worry." Merlin answered, smiling at the man "I am accustomed to rising early anyway. And again Andrew, call me Merlin."

"Sorry, sir- Merlin." He corrected himself, blushing slightly. "I brought you your new clothes." He said, holding up the folded clothes he had been holding. Merlin smiled and walked over, taking the finally made clothes from the man. He disappeared around the corner and dressed. The clothes were made of a soft cotton that felt wonderful against his skin after years of scratchy wool. The tunic was a royal blue color with a gold trim around the collar of the shirt as well as the bottom hem and wrists, the trousers were a dark brown that went well with the blue, though they were made of a thicker, more sturdy fabric. The clothes fit him perfectly and highlighted his features well. Merlin was grateful that it wasn't extravagant and it was still practical.

Andrew nodded in satisfaction when Merlin walked out from behind the screen.

"One more thing Merlin." He said, holding out a sword belt. Merlin took it but looked at the man in confusion.

"But I don't have a sword yet." He objected. The servant gave a knowing smile before turning around and opening the wardrobe.

"It is only a temporary thing but Sir Richard made sure that you would have a sword upon your return." The servant came out and Merlin gasped at the sight of the blade in his hands.

The sword gleamed in the rising sun, it was beautifully crafted and looked to be the perfect fit for Merlin.

"It was your father's blade when he was prince." Andrew said, holding it out for the prince to take. Merlin gingerly reached forward and took the precious blade, he stepped away from the servant and stretched his arm out, testing the weight of the blade. He gave it a few practice swings and was pleased at how easily it worked with his body; if maybe a little heavy for him. He grinned at the servant as he sheathed the sword at his side.

"Thank you, Andrew."

"It was my pleasure. Merlin." Merlin's grin grew wider at the servant's use of his first name and, making his way to the door he mentally prepared himself for the first day as King.

 **I hope you all enjoyed, sorry it's a smaller chapter, it's kinda just a filler, the next couple chapters may be like this but I still would love to know what y'all think so please review and have a great day!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Yay! an update! I have class in 10 minutes but I am updating, Sorry it took longer than normal to update, may be awhile again but I will aim for Saturday or Sunday.**

 **So just incase y'all forgot what last happened in the flashbacks here's a quick recap-**

 **Richard saved Merlin and helped him, Hunith, and Sir Mathew escape. Merlin tried to run back to Aria but finally realized the truth of the situation. (and if you missed the change I made I'll tell you again, I changed it so Merlin was 13 at the time of the fall of Aria). Now enjoy the story and the return of the flashbacks!**

 ***Merlin POV***

When Merlin stepped out of his room he noticed that two castle guards had replaced the knights. As he began walking down the hall, the two fell in step behind him and Andrew. Merlin's stomach grumbled and he realized that he had forgotten to eat breakfast.

"The men you arrived with yesterday are waiting in the private dining room if you wish to join them for breakfast, Sire." Andrew said, hearing the grumble. Merlin blushed slightly but nodded, quickly rerouting himself. Two right turns and one left turn later he arrived at the doors of the private dining room that he and his family used to dine in.

The doors were hanging open and Merlin grinned widely at the view that greeted him. His friends were all surrounding Percival and Owen who were arm wrestling. The Knights of Camelot were cheering on Percival while the Arian Knights cheered on a straining Owen. Percival was obviously winning the match, his bare arms allowing everyone to see the bulging muscles as he slowly defeated the other Knight. Owen pushed back as hard as he could but everyone could see how much he was straining while Percival was smirking. Richard was simply watching in disapproval though Merlin could see a glint of amusement in his eyes. A cheer broke out among the Camelotians as Percival slammed Sir Owen's arm into the table.

"I could have warned you about that Sir Owen." Merlin called, entering the room and making his way to his chair, the one at the head of the table. The Knight grumbled and rubbed his sore arm, saying nothing.

"Good morning Sire." Richard greeted, nodding at him "Did you sleep well?"

"I did, thank you Richard. Did you?"

"Yes Sire, I went to sleep with the aim of waking up in a few hours, I accidentally slept most of the night."

"Well then, I'm glad you got rest." Merlin took his seat and servants quickly entered, laying out platters of food and filling goblets. The servants disappeared and the group began dishing the food onto plates, eggs, bacon, and fruit piled high on each plate. Percival, Gwaine, and Owen seemed to be having a competition to see who could get the most food on their plate. Merlin chuckled as he served himself a small helping of eggs and a piece of bacon. Richard looked over and frowned.

"You need to need to eat more than that sire." He said, calling the attention of the others to Merlin's meager plate.

"Is it even possible to eat that little and survive?!" James asked, incredulous.

"I'm not sure." Answered his twin doubtfully. Merlin rolled his eyes and huffed.

"This is a perfectly normal amount of food, you all are just beasts that eat everything in sight." He said, and Leon shook his head.

"We may eat a lot Merlin but even Gwen doesn't eat that little," he said, looking doubtfully at the ex-servant.

"Is that why you're so skinny? Did they not feed you in Camelot?!" asked Owen angrily. Elyan glared at him.

"He could have eaten if he chose, Arthur certainly didn't stop him." He shot back and Owen turned to him, glaring.

"It wasn't anyone's fault," Merlin said, stopping Owen from starting a fight "I just never had time to eat a lot I guess" Merlin shrugged. "between being Arthur's servant, helping Gaius, and protecting Camelot I never had much time for eating and sleeping." Owen scowled and Richard's expression softened in understanding and Merlin knew that the large knight understood being too busy to care for one's self.

"Well you have plenty of time for that now sire, it wouldn't do for you to collapse in the middle of the council meeting today." He said, giving his king a pointed look and Merlin sighed in resignation as he piled more eggs onto his plate and put a second piece of bacon on. Richard nodded in satisfaction and the group began eating. It was relaxing, Merlin realized, to sit at breakfast with his friends and just eat and laugh, telling stories to one another. Merlin could be himself, at one point using his magic to pull Gwaine's chair out from under him after a particularly embarrassing joke at Merlin's expense. All too soon, however, a servant knocked on the doors to the small dining hall.

"Enter," Merlin called and a servant entered, bowing towards Merlin. "Yes?" Merlin asked kindly, trying not to scare the servant.

"Forgive the interruption sire but the Council requests yours and Sir Richard's presence in the Council Chambers."

"Of course," Merlin said, rising from his seat and everyone at the table did the same. "Tell them I will be right there."

"Yes, my lord." The servant said, bowing once again, before leaving the room to deliver the message.

"I will meet you in the Council Chambers sire," Richard said, giving a short bow, and leaving once Merlin had nodded his consent.

"You all are free to wander the castle if you wish or rest, tomorrow I expect my knights to begin training again and of course you all are welcome to join them." He said, looking at the Knights of Camelot. They all nodded and began filing out of the room.

As the knights began to walk out of the room Merlin spotted Nathan.

"Nathan, can I talk to you?" he asked and the knight nodded, making his way to the young King.

"How can I help you sire?" he asked, smiling at him.

Merlin rolled his eyes "First of all, stop calling me sire." The knight simply grinned at him in response "I need a favor, and of course you can turn me down if you want to." Nathan's face turned serious.

"Whatever you need Merlin, I am happy to help with."

"I need you to take the Knights of Camelot to the tavern tonight." He blurted out and Nathan looked at him in bewilderment.

"Why?"

"The others don't trust them, many of them hate them, perhaps if they got to know them better they would be more open to them." He reasoned and Nathan nodded in agreement.

"Ok, I'd be happy to. I've wanted to see Gwaine at a tavern for a while now." He replied, grinning widely again. Merlin groaned in response.

"He and Owen will make an interesting pair." The young warlock said, groaning again at the thought of the aftermath of the two at a tavern for a night. Nathan simply laughed loudly.

"Don't worry sire, I'll make sure Sir Richard and I keep them at least mildly in check, I suspect Sir Leon will help as well." Merlin sighed but nodded.

"Just- Just make sure they don't destroy the tavern completely I have enough to deal with right now." He said, running a hand through his hair.

"I'll try but I am making no promises." Nathan answered.

"I guess I'll take that, now, if you'll excuse me I need to meet with the council." He said, sobering up.

"Good luck Merlin." Nathan said, putting a hand on Merlin's shoulder in a show of support. Merlin smiled weakly at his friend in gratitude before leaving the dining chambers. He could feel his anxiety rising in him the closer he got to the council chambers.

The noblemen around the table rose as he entered, bowing. He nodded at them in return as he made his way to the head of the table, and stepped in front of his seat but did not sit. He motioned for the council to sit and they did, Richard nodding to him as a means of support.

"I am sure all of you have many questions and hopefully I will answer them all today with the tale I will tell you, though I warn you it is a long and complicated one, we may be in here all day if I am to tell you everything." The nobles nodded, signaling their agreement and Merlin began his story once again.

*Flashback*  
 _"My Prince." Sir Mathew's voice cut softly into Merlin's sobs "we have to keep moving." Merlin wiped his tears away and nodded shakily. With the help of Sir Mathew, he rose to his feet._

" _Where are we going?" he asked, trying to portray an air of strength but his shaky voice gave away his fear._

" _Ealdor." His mother replied, her voice soft "Where my brothers and I grew up."_

" _We are going to pose as a family." Mathew added and Merlin hesitated but nodded, he would allow Mathew to pose as his father, if it meant keeping his mother safe, besides it would surely only be for a short while._

" _We have to go before your uncle's men find us." Mathew said, but then a voice rang out from the woods._

" _Too late," it said and they turned to see a soldier clad in black, the crest on his cuirass that of Merlin's Uncle. A large blood red tree, the branches looked like the roots of the tree while the roots sprouted swords that dripped with more red, giving the appearance that the entire crest was soaked in blood. The man's face was lit up by a malicious grin._

" _The king will be pleased when I bring him his nephew and dearest Sister-in-Law" he sneered, drawing his sword._

" _That scum is not a King!" Sir Mathew growled, drawing his own weapon. "He is nothing but a coward." The knight spit at the ground to show exactly what he thought of Merlin's uncle. Before the two could fight however there was the sound of another blade being drawn. A split second later the tip of a sword protruded from the enemy soldier's chest. The man looked down in shock as he began coughing and blood sputtered out of his mouth. He dropped to his knees and fell face forward, revealing an Arian Knight, he quickly stepped forward and yanked the sword out of the fallen soldier's back before sheathing the weapon._

 _Sir Mathew breathed a sigh of relief as he lowered his sword. He recognized the man as Sir Dylan, a knight who had only been sworn in a few days ago. The two met in the middle of the clearing and clasped arms, but to Mathew's confusion, the young man's face suddenly turned into a sneer. He gasped in pain as suddenly a dagger plunged into his stomach, the other knight twisted the blade, causing more damage. Mathew grasped at the wound as Dylan yanked out the dagger and shoved him out of the way. He stepped past the dying knight to get to the prince, pulling his sword out of its sheath once again. A hand wrapped around his ankle and the knight looked down in confusion to see the wounded Mathew struggling to keep him back from the prince._

" _Just die!" he growled, shaking the man's hand off and crushing it with his boot, grinning at the sickening crack that filled the air as the fallen knight screamed in agony. Sir Mathew watched helplessly as the traitorous knight walked toward the prince, sword at the ready. Sir Mathew managed to drag himself to his feet, his broken hand cradled his wound while the other held his sword. He sent up a quick prayer to the triple goddess and silently thanked Sir Richard for making him practice with his non-dominant hand as well. Mathew stumbled forward just as the traitor plunged his blade into the prince's side, who was trying to flee the man. The boy fell to the ground, crying out in pain._

" _NO!" Mathew roared, swinging his sword wildly at the other man, bringing it down on his neck, Dylan fell to the ground choking as blood spurted from his throat. The queen ran over to her son, cradling him in her lap, his blood staining her dress. Mathew collapsed to his knees, his broken hand still holding his wound and let his blood-soaked sword fall to the ground. He hung his head in shame, he had failed. He was going to die a failure. He had failed in his duties. The prince was going to die and Aria would remain fallen, and it was his fault. He was glad at the pain he was in, he deserved it. Tears fell from his eyes, his vision started to fade to black, it was over._

*End Flashback*

Merlin finished the tale of how he reached Ealdor and continued as he told the Noblemen about his journey to Camelot and all the things that happened to him while he was there. When he revealed that he was Emrys the noblemen gasped in shock and one of them rose to his feet.

"Surely you cannot be serious! Emrys is just a fairytale, something parents tell their children to help them sleep at night!"

"You do not have to believe me, Lord Fredrick, you do not have to believe any of what I say, though if you want to prove it ask a druid to identify me, they will confirm what I say." After a moment of silence, Merlin continued. His story lasted long into the day, servant brought them a midday meal and cleared it out and Merlin continued. The sun was setting when Merlin finally finished his story, leaving the stunned and awed men staring at him in silence.

"King Balinor is dead." Stated Lord Malcolm, rising from his seat. "Long Live King Merlin." The other lords quickly rose from their seats, Richard joining them. And one by one they each spoke, repeating Lord Malcolm.

"Long Live King Merlin."

 **-Line break-Yay I get attention!-Line Break-Am I a break for the line or is the line breaking?-**

Later that night, having agreed to meet with the council again tomorrow Merlin walked to his chambers, his two guards behind him. Merlin entered the room and was pleased to see Andrew already there, waiting for him.

"Andrew!" he said, grinning at the servant. The servant looked at him in confusion.

"Evening Sire," he greeted, bowing. Merlin sighed.

"I told you, Andrew, call me Merlin and please, no bowing."

"Sorry."

"It's fine, I expect it to take a few days, maybe weeks, but you'll get used to it." He said waving him off, his face quickly turned serious, however.

"I need a favor Andrew, I need you to get some things for me and you can't tell anyone, will you help me?" he asked, and the puzzled servant nodded.

"Good, I need a black cloak and a rope, a long one, I'll explain why once you get back with those items." Andrew reluctantly nodded and left, while Andrew was gone Merlin quickly changed into more plain clothes, a few more sets of clothes had arrived during the day, one set being a plain black tunic and brown pants. Andrew returned a few minutes later with the requested items.

"Great," he said, taking the rope from him and tying one end of it to the bed post.

''Si-Merlin what are you doing?" the servant asked in bewilderment.

"I'm going out and I don't need anyone knowing or coming with me." He answered, lowering the rope out the window after ensuring that no one was in the court yard below.

"You're leaving the castle?!" Andrew yelled, horrified at the thought. "But you are our Prince you can't simply sneak out of the castle!" Merlin sighed, he knew the servant would panic.

"I need to, I have something I need to do, you do not need to be worried about me, I can take care of myself." The servant still looked nervous and Merlin ran a hand through his hair, sighing again. "I'll be back in a few hours, I will be perfectly safe." Andrew nodded doubtfully and Merlin pulled the cloak tightly around his shoulders, pulling the hood over his head so he was unrecognizable. "Once I'm gone leave my chamber and don't mention anything to the guards." He said and the servant nodded again.

"Just, be safe." He said, his voice filled with anxiety.

"I will be" Merlin replied, beginning to climb out the window, Andrew watched anxiously as he climbed down, slight relief flickering across his face when Merlin reached the bottom unharmed. Merlin snuck through the courtyard and found himself stuck at the gates that lead to the city, two guards at the gates, making it so he would be unable to leave unnoticed. Merlin hid in a corner that was out of view from the guards, though he could still see and hear them.

Merlin's eyes flashed gold and a barrel that was nearby tipped over and rolled away. The guards looked at each other, puzzled.

"Is-is someone trying to distract us?" asked one uncertainly Both guards quickly scanned the courtyard behind them.

"I-I'm not sure" answered the other "Surely they didn't think us that stupid?"

Merlin frowned, it never occurred to him what he would do if they didn't fall for it, the guards in Camelot always fell for it. Perhaps Merlin should have a talk with Arthur about the training of the guards in Camelot. Merlin thought quickly, the men were now on high alert, a simple distraction obviously wasn't going to work. He remembered a spell from his spell book that may help but he still hadn't mastered it. It was an invisibility spell, he had tried it many times but still had never noticed any effect.

" _Dunnian_ _æt mec_ "

The familiar warmth of his magic overtook him and he felt it settle over him. Looking down at himself he sighed in disappointment when he could still see himself. Confusion soon overwhelmed the disappointment, he had felt his magic take effect, perhaps he was invisible to others but not to himself. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the shadows, the guards didn't react. Walking closer Merlin watched the guards warily, they still didn't react, even as he got next to them. He slipped past them and continued walking only letting himself breathe when he was out of sight.

" _Ætíewan_ _æt mec"_ Merlin chanted, his eyes flashing gold and once again the warmth of his magic washed over him again and he knew that he was once again visible.

Merlin slipped into the tavern unnoticed, and sat at a table in the corner, covered in shadows. In the center of the tavern, several of Merlin's knights were sitting at a group of large tables, there were about 10 knights, laughing and drinking. It seemed that Merlin had arrived before Nathan and the others, meaning he would get to see everything. A few minutes after the barmaid had come to his table and asked what he wanted Merlin placed his order and the maid left. A few minutes after he was given his drink the door opened and Nathan walked in, Owen right beside him. The Arian knights cheered in greeting at the sight of them and Nathan turned to the still open door and said something, a second later Gwaine entered and the tavern went silent, the other Camelot knights entered after them, the twins and Richard filing in at the end. One of the drunker Arian knights rose to his feet.

"We don't want them here." He said angrily, gripping his sword "Aria does not welcome murderers." He said, spitting at the ground when he finished. The entire room was dead silent, everyone, including Merlin ready for a fight.

"The Prince accepts them, would you really question the word of your future king?" Nathan asked calmly, taking a step forward. "Furthermore, if we judge them without getting to know them, without hearing their voice, their opinion, how are we any better than the ones you hate so much?" He questioned. "I and my friends, your friends, have been traveling with them for two weeks now, we have accepted them, but I am not asking you to accept them, I am asking you to give them a chance."

The angry knight seemed to calm down but was still drunk and said nothing, instead another knight stood, it was Sir Alaric.

"He's right, we need to give them a chance." He said and, still somewhat reluctant, the Arian knights made room for the newcomers. It was tense and no one really spoke, though some of the Arian knights whispered to their companions, the Knights of Camelot acted as if they didn't notice and merely chatted amongst themselves. The barmaid cautiously approached the group.

"What-what can I get you?" she stammered. Gwaine grinned at her.

"Well if you don't mind beautiful, I'd love the best mead you have." He said in his most flirtatious voice. The maid blushed and giggled. The others ordered the same but the entire time she continued to shoot Gwaine looks of curiosity, Gwaine easily met them with a flirtatious smile each time, making her giggle even more. Finally, the girl left, shooting one more glance at Gwaine. The Arian knights were staring at the brunet in shock.

"How did you do that?" questioned one, who Merlin recognized as Sir Bryce from the night before. "We've been trying to flirt with her for ages but she always brushes us off." Gwaine grinned at him and waggled his eyebrows.

"It's the way you say it, my friend." He said and the other knight frowned slightly at the term 'friend' "I could give a tip of two if you'd like?" he said. Merlin was grateful that Gwaine had so much experience making people like him, he had hoped the man would be able to break the ice and it appeared Merlin was correct in his hopes when the man nodded, scooting closer to the roughish knight. Soon the drinks had arrived and conversation was flowing. Gwaine began telling his many tavern stories while some of Merlin's knights cleared a table for arm wrestling, all of them wanting to test Percival, Owen watched them fail one by one with growing satisfaction. When Merlin finally decided it was time to leave Gwaine was flirting with the barmaid, who was now in his lap and giggling as she twirled her hair around her finger, Percival was arm wrestling the 8th knight who had challenged him and the others were either laughing and telling stories or gambling. Satisfied that his men had accepted his friends and nothing would go wrong, Merlin slipped into the night, missing the hate filled glares that followed the Knights of Camelot every move.

 ***Nathan POV***

Nathan said nothing as his King slipped out the door of the tavern and into the night. He had been perfectly aware of the young royal throughout the night, could feel his eyes on him. He had said nothing because it was obvious that the young royal wished to hide his identity, part of him wanted to follow his king, wanting to ensure that man's safety but he held himself back. Eyes shifting to Gwaine the man shot him a knowing look and Nathan knew that the Knight of Camelot had been highly aware of his friend and was feeling the same protectiveness as Nathan was. Nathan let his eyes wander through the tavern, skipping over the three drunken knights in the corner, talking to one another.

 ***Unknown POV***

"Look at him." Growled one of them "how dare he have her in his lap! She is a good Arian woman and should not be soiled by Camelot filth, how can she let him do that?" One of the other knights with him nodded in agreement.

"The blond one is so pretentious too, acting superior to everyone." He grumbled, his breath reeking of alcohol.

"We should do something about them" hiccupped the third, gripping the ale in his hand angrily. A voice wafted over to the group.

"Next time we should bring Merlin!" called the brown-haired knight, the maid still in his lap. The knights around him stared at him in shock while the three at the table gaped in anger.

"How dare you?!" roared one of them, rising from his seat and swaying as he walked over to the larger group. "How -hic- dare you call our-hic- prince by his first name! You drunken cur!" he said, coming closer, hand on the hilt of his sword. Everyone in the tavern was tense at this point and Gwaine silently eased the girl off his lap, standing up. "and how -hic- dare you suggest he come to a tavern. You don't even deserve to breath Arian air, let alone sit with our prince!" he yelled, finally drawing his sword. The Camelot knight drew his sword as well, most of the tavern following suit. The other patrons cowered behind tables and chairs as everyone else drew their weapons, readying for a fight.

"Now listen mate," Gwaine said, holding his sword in front of him, though his voice was placating. "I don't want to fight." He said, trying to get the man to calm down.

"There's no reason to attack them, they have come to aid us in this war." Richard said, walking towards the man, no weapon drawn. The man, in his drunken state, didn't recognize Richard and lunged at him. Nathan watched in horror but was too far away to stop it as the man's blade plunged into Richard's side. The head knight grunted and pushed the man back, the force of his shove making the man fly into the tables behind him. Richard collapse to the ground and Percival caught him on the way down, preventing further injury. Two of the Arian knights quickly grabbed the attacker and yanked him to his feet, pinning his arms behind him.

"Let me go you bastards!" he hollered tugging against the men's grip but as drunk as he was the knights didn't even need to struggle to hold him. He continued to fight and holler until someone got tired of it and knocked him across the back of his skull with the pommel of their sword, knocking him out.

Nathan ran to Richard and dropped to one knee beside the fallen knight. The older man groaned in pain as he pulled the sword from the wound, immediately placing a rag over the wound to stop the bleeding.

"Come on Richard." Said Nathan. "No way are you getting killed by some drunk after all we've been through," he said, pressing down on the rag.

"I'm not going to die from something like this little one, you've seen the wounds I've suffered, do you really think this will kill me?" panted Richard, struggling to stay awake.

"I knew you were too stubborn old man." Said Owen, coming up on the other side.

"I'm not old Sir Owen and you're just as stubborn as me." He shot back and the blond chuckled.

"Right you are Richard, right you are." He said, and once the bleeding stopped he and Nathan helped the older knight to his feet.

"Take him to the dungeon," Nathan ordered the two knights who were holding the unconscious attacker, glaring at the man Nathan continued. "Make sure you put him in chains." The knights nodded before dragging him off.

"Here let me help," Percival said, coming up beside Nathan and, recognizing that the larger knight would be helpful, Nathan stepped aside, allowing Percival to take his place. Nathan cleared the way of tables and chairs as they walked to the door. Half carrying Richard they finally made it back to the castle and took him to the infirmary. After leaving the head knight, Nathan made his way to his chambers, exhausted. As he collapsed into bed and began to drift off it occurred to him that he would have to tell his young king about the head knight's wounds, he just hoped the man didn't blame himself for leaving too early.

 **Ok, so with that flashback I forgot the majority of that scene so I surprised myself with that and broke my own heart...**

 **Sorry for hurting Richard again. Please review! also what do y'all think of Nathan?**


	27. Chapter 27

**ATTENTION: THERE WAS A MIX UP AND I ACCIDENTALY POSTED AN INCOMPLETE VERSION OF THIS CHAPTER, THIS IS NOW FIXED, i ENCOURAGE YOU TO REREAD IT AS IT WILL NOW MAKE MORE SENSE AND IS LONGER.**

 **Hey update! I so totally didn't push myself too much for this chapter *Looks away guiltily* So my hands started feeling better and I just got a massive amount of motivation from the number of well wishes I got, which let me just say, wow. Thank you all so much, your well wishes mean so so much to me and helped me so much ( I was feeling pretty down) so thank you all so much! This chapter is dedicated to all the lovely people who sent their well wishes!**

 **A very special scene was included in this chapter, I wrote this scene while watching a sunset in the Grand Canyon. You can spot if because it will be between two *, there is one scene before that that is marked with a * but that is for a different reason, which you will find at the bottom AN.**

 **I hope you all enjoy and please review!**

 ***Merlin POV***

The next morning Merlin woke to Andrew entering the room, groaning he turned to the window, the light of dawn poked through the mostly closed curtains. He had been exhausted last night after getting back and having to climb the rope, he had used his magic to help him but it was still difficult, so he had closed the curtains so he would sleep longer.

"Sire!" Andrew called, relief obvious in his voice "I was so worried, especially when I heard about what happened to Sir Richard last night," he rambled and Merlin shot up.

"What did you say? What happened to Richard?" he asked. Andrew looked at him in confusion.

"You didn't know?" he asked, "I thought you would have found out somehow. Last night Sir Richard was at the tavern with some others as well as the Camelot knights, one of the knights was drunk and tried to attack Sir Gwaine, Sir Richard stepped in and was wounded badly. He's in the infirmary now." Merlin quickly sprung out of bed and threw on a fine red tunic and brown pants, not that he really noticed what he was dressing in, he was far too busy panicking over Richard.

He flew out the door and down the hall, his guards froze in shock but quickly went after him, having to jog to catch up to him. Merlin walked briskly through the halls, only keeping himself from running so as not to panic people. After what felt like forever he arrived at the physician's chambers, bursting in he was surprised to see one of the patient cots surrounded by knights and guards. They all turned when he entered and he caught sight of Richard, sitting up in the bed and looking no worse for wear. The men around him quickly parted and bowed when they saw him. Arriving at the bed Merlin looked down at his head knight worriedly.

"Are you well?" he asked and Richard nodded, bowing his head respectfully, the knights and guards left the room, giving the two men some privacy.

"It was a small wound." He said.

"Not from what I heard." Merlin replied, scowling "This is my fault, I should have stayed longer." He said running a hand through his hair.

"What do you mean?" Richard asked with a frown. Merlin suddenly looked shy as he answered cautiously.

"I may have, uh, snuck out of the castle last night and gone to the tavern." He said, his expression that of a guilty child who knew they were in trouble.

"You did what?!" Richard asked, alarmed. "Do you know what could have happened? You could have been hurt, you could have been killed! Where the hell were your guards? Why didn't they prevent this? I'm going to flay them alive." He growled, trying to get out of bed to do just that, Merlin hastily pushed him back down.

"You need to rest Richard, and it isn't their fault, they never knew I even left." Richard looked at him in confusion and Merlin continued, there was no way the man would let it rest.

"I snuck out the window and I used an invisibility spell to get past the guards at the gate." He explained bashfully.

"You- let me get this straight." Richard said, clearly trying to hold in his fury "You climbed out of your window, which I want to know how but we will focus on that later, snuck past the castle guards using magic and went to a tavern?" he asked, glaring daggers at the warlock.

"Yes?" Merlin answered hesitantly. Richard exploded.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU? YOU COULD HAVE FALLEN OUT THE WINDOW AND BROKEN YOUR NECK! AN ASSASSIN COULD HAVE KILLED YOU! OR EVEN SOME DRUNK!" He raged and the fury in Richard's voice shook Merlin to the core, he had never, in his entire life, seen Richard this angry, not even when Robert had attacked. "YOU FOOLISH BOY, WHAT DO THINK WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU DIED?! THE WAR WOULD BE LOST, EVERYTHING WOULD BE LOST AND I WOULD HAVE FAILED!" Merlin stood angrily, Richard had treated him as if he were fragile ever since they had been reunited, and if he would break like glass.

"Do you really think so little of me?" he shot back, not even raising his voice, though it was clear that he was angry and hurt. "Do you really think that after everything I have been through I would be killed by some drunk or an assassin? I am no longer the fragile child that fled Aria, I am a man in my own right and have been through more than you could even dream. I went to protect my friends, to make sure they were safe, I can more than handle anything I could have been hurt by. You have seen my scars and heard my stories, so tell me, who do you think was in more danger of getting hurt, me or my attacker?" he asked, glaring at the man. He didn't give the head knight a chance to answer, turning and storming out of the room, leaving the shocked knight to process everything that had just happened.

 ***Unknown POV***

The Knight paced angrily in the hall. The other man watched him cautiously, knowing the man could explode at any second.

"We need to get rid of those damn Camelotians" he growled, stopping in front of the second man. "first they get friendly with the prince and now this, Eric is in the dungeons and who knows what's going to happen to him." He fell silent for a minute, thinking "We need to end this, one way or another, get the others it's time we come up with a plan to rid Aria of these rats."

 ***Merlin POV***

It was several days later until Merlin saw Richard again. In those days, Merlin had endless council meetings, all of them discussing the next step, his coronation. Richard was on bed rest and therefore could not attend, magic could heal the wound quickly but the knight had still lost a lot of blood and he needed rest. He spent the little free time he had going between feeling guilty at the harsh words that had been exchanged and being angry at the knight for not trusting him to take care of himself. When he wasn't doing that, he was being fitted for armor, planning for battle, and trying to decide what to do with the knight that now sat in his dungeons, not to mention beating himself up for letting Richard get hurt in the first place. He often saw the Knights of Camelot and the Arian knights training outside the council room window and longed to join them. At first, the Camelot Knights had trained separately but with the help of Owen, Nathan, the twins, and to Merlin's surprise, Alaric they slowly joined the Arian knights in their drills.

The council had decided to let Merlin rest for the day as the meeting today was mostly the finer details of the coronation such as decorations and the guest list. He was to give a speech to the people that afternoon and the Council figured he would use this time to prepare, in truth Merlin had written his speech days ago, instead he decided to finally get some training in. Andrew helped him to put the armor that had been delivered the day before on. In Camelot Merlin had been forced to sneak out of the castle and train alone in woods if he wanted any real training, and even then he could only improve so much swinging at immobile trees, at the very least it kept him ready for more training. The chainmail and armor was lighter than most armor, the royal blacksmiths used magic to make it lighter and stronger than normal armor, therefore easier to move in. It was also heavily enchanted to protect him from a variety of spells, though most powerful spells would be able to get through. The blacksmiths weren't powerful enough to enchant against the strongest spells but Merlin planned to enchant the armor further when he got the chance. * Despite himself, Merlin had to admit that the armor looked good on him, he chuckled to himself when he thought about what Arthur would say.

Merlin spotted Richard on a bench in front of the training field, walking over he sat on the bench.

"I thought you were on bed rest." He said tensely.

"I am just watching today, giving pointers." Richard answered. They sat in an awkward silence for several minutes as both of them tried to figure out what to say, until finally, the Knights began pouring out of the armory, ready for training. The Arian knights, Merlin was pleased to see, were laughing with the Camelot Knights as they walked, many of the Arian knights still seemed reluctant to welcome them, however, and a couple of them were simply glaring at the laughing men. The Arian knights bowed when they saw him and the Camelot knights stopped walking and stared at him.

"Merlin, why are you wearing armor?" Percival asked, his expression one of bewilderment.

"So I can train." Merlin answered and the Camelot knights looked at him fearfully, the last time Arthur had let Merlin swing a sword he had nearly taken his own head off. By now the Arian knights were going through their drills, Nathan was sparing another, younger Knight, who quickly lost to the man.

Making a decision Merlin rose to his feet and walked over.

"Mind if I try?" he asked and the Knights of Camelot looked at him in shock.

"You Merlin? You can barely hold a sword." The Arian knights bristled at that, and Nathan spoke up.

"Actually, before the attack, he was one of the best fighters in Aria." Nathan said and the Camelot Knights gaped at him.

"But Arthur-" Leon began.

"Arthur never would have believed me if I told him that I, a peasant from a small village knew how to wield a sword and if I had proved it he would have known I was not a peasant."

Merlin drew a practice sword that he had had Andrew get him. By now everyone was watching, eager to see their king fight.

"I must warn you, it's been some time since I've fought anyone with a sword, and I've never completed my training." Merlin warned, knowing he would lose against the knight.

"Not to worry sire, it is to be expected. We will teach you what we can." Nathan replied and Merlin nodded in gratitude. The two circled each other slowly, looking for a weakness in each other's defense, soon enough Nathan spotted one a lunged. He swung his sword towards Merlin's right side where he had seen the opening, Merlin, however, was ready for this and jumped to the left, allowing Nathan's swing to go too wide and exposing his flank. Merlin went for it but Nathan recovered quickly, blocking Merlin's blow at the last second. Merlin simply smirked at the knight who was now eyeing him warily. He had learned that move from watching Arthur, this was the first time he had actually been able to put in action and while not completely successful the results were satisfying.

"You are better than you let on." Nathan said, watching him carefully, Merlin grinned back.

"It's amazing what you can learn watching someone fight every day for 6 years." He replied and Nathan snorted while the knights who didn't know Merlin had been a servant looked at each other in confusion. The two exchanged a few more blows and blocks, neither of them landing any hits, though it was obvious to all who were watching that Merlin was struggling compared to Nathan. Soon, Nathan saw a new opening and took it, he lunged at Merlin from the left but at the last second used his momentum to swing at his now unprotected right side. Merlin fell for the feign and the blow contacted hard with his side, sending him to the ground with a grunt of pain, he dropped his sword as he fell and Nathan leveled his sword at his throat.

"Do you yield sire?" he asked and Merlin nodded, immediately Nathan plunged his sword into the ground and offered the royal his hand, Merlin happily took it and hauled himself up with Nathan's help.

"Well, I certainly have a lot to learn." Merlin said cheerfully.

"Indeed, though you're better than I remember, it's a good thing you learn quickly." He said and Merlin nodded in agreement, the urgency of the coming war making him frown. Merlin turned to his friends who were staring at him in awe.

"I told you he could fight." Nathan said proudly and Merlin blushed slightly. For the rest of the morning, Merlin trained with his knights and friends, learning new moves. Gwaine tried to teach him his signature moves but Merlin couldn't quite get it, the other knights of Camelot objected to Merlin being taught those moves when he wouldn't teach them the moves but Gwaine ignored them. At noon, he went inside and was pleased to see that Andrew had already prepared a bath for him and layed the outfit he was going to wear for the speech out. He sank into the tub let his eyes drift closed as the warm water enveloped him. He startled awake when Andrew entered an hour later, carrying a tray laden down with food. Stepping out of the tub a towel wrapped around his waist, Merlin walked over and popped a grape into his mouth.

"Sorry sire but you need to eat quickly, we need to get you dressed, your speech is in an hour." Merlin nodded and quickly shoved some food down before going to get dressed.

The Royal Tailor had been instructed to make an outfit for this occasion and Merlin could tell he had worked hard for it. The tunic was of a fine, soft fabric that showed off Merlin's wealth but was still practical, it was the deep blue of the House Ambrosius, it rippled slightly giving off a watery effect. Displaying the second color of House Ambrosius was a silver trim on the edges as well as a V shape dip in the middle that was trimmed in silver as well, small swirls spread off into the shirt. The trousers were a plain black, though still made of fine fabric. Over the tunic was a white, button down jacket, this had silver trimmings and across his chest was a silky blue sash. Around his waist was his sword and he slipped a small dagger into his boot, he had to be prepared, this speech had been announced for several days and his uncle may very well send someone to attack him during this.

His heart beat rapidly as he left his chambers, his two guards falling behind him. He arrived at the balcony where he was to make the announcement and felt a wave of gratitude when he saw his friends standing there, dressed in their finery, all of them waiting for him. Richard nodded to him and Merlin nodded back, he would need to talk to the Head Knight soon. Gwaine clapped him on the back in a show of support and Merlin smiled weakly back, Leon inclined his head in respect and Merlin's smile grew, looking at the faces around him he knew that no matter what happened his friends would be there for him. With a new-found confidence, he walked out onto the balcony and addressed the teeming crowd below.

"Good people" Merlin began, using magic to amplify his voice so everyone below could hear him. "After 8 long years, I have finally returned to Aria, I have been gone far too long but I have finally returned home." The people cheered at this statement. "Many of you have already seen the Knights of Camelot that returned with me, many of you fear them. There is no need to fear them, they are my friends and will do no one harm, they have accepted magic and Aria." Silence met this statement as the citizens whispered to one another and Merlin continued with the next part of his speech, "While I was away, I made friends with the Camelot knights and I owe them my life, we have gone on many adventures and quests together and I trust them with my entire being. I do not ask you to trust them blindly, I only ask that you give them a chance." Merlin paused slightly as he gathered himself for the news he was about to reveal "While I was away, something happened" he said, his face and voice turning grave, confused murmurs swept through the crowd "during one quest I came across my father." Shocked gasps filled the courtyard and excitement lit several faces while others simply filled with apprehension "the news I bring to you is not joyful as I wish it were but full of sorrow, my father was killed shortly after I found him. He died protecting me." Merlin fell silent, letting this sink in, many people began crying while others simply stared at Merlin, waiting for him to finish. "All of us have suffered much these past 8 years and, as much as I wish it were not so, there is suffering still to come. But we will face it together, as one. We will fight my Uncle head on and we will win. We will rebuild Aria, we will bring this kingdom back to its former glory!" he shouted and the people cheered at the proclamation, confidence in their new king swelling. Merlin knew that the speech he had given to his knights would not work here, his people needed to hear that he was going to live, even if it was a lie.

Finished with his speech Merlin turned to go and before he could make it to the door he saw a flash of movement in the corner of his eye and quickly turned to it, throwing his arms up in defense. The attacker lunged at him, dagger out and Merlin noticed a faint glow from it. The man slashed at Merlin and he jumped back, the dagger slashed his clothing, barely missing his skin. Merlin's eyes flashed gold and the man was thrown back, a loud cracking sound was heard and blood began to pool below the man's head. Two of his knights immediately ran to the man, drawing their weapons as they went while Richard and Owen ran up next to Merlin, also drawing their weapons, the others began searching the area for more attackers. One of the knights that approached the attacker crouched down and felt for a pulse, turning to Merlin, he spoke.

"He's dead Sire." He reported and Merlin nodded.

"Search him for anything to identify him, and hand me that knife, there's something odd about it." One of the Knights picked up the still glowing dagger and handed it to Merlin, hilt first while the other searched the dead assassin. Merlin took the dagger gingerly while Richard looked at his arm.

"Did you get hurt?" the panicked knight asked.

"No, he just tore my clothes," Merlin answered, shrugging the Knight off, the older man frowned but backed off. Soon the other Knights returned from their search for more attackers.

"The area is clear." Owen reported coming up next to them "are you wounded?" he asked and Merlin sighed in annoyance as he looked up from the blade.

"No, I didn't hurt and judging by this blade it's good that it didn't touch me."

"Why?" Richard asked, brow furrowed in concern.

"It's enchanted." Merlin replied, "I'm not sure what the enchantment was but it couldn't have been good."

"How did he get in here?" Richard asked, turning to the two knights that had been guarding the hallway. The both shook their heads, confused.

"We did not see him come in sir." One of the answered. The knight who had been searching the body walked up.

"We found this on the body." He said, handing Richard a pendant, taking it Richard inspected it and frowned.

"There's something weird about this." He said, holding it up to the light.

"Here, let me see it," Merlin said, taking the pendant from the Knight. Immediately Merlin felt a wave of magic envelope him, similar to the pendant he had received from Gaius. "It's magic, I'm not sure what it does but it's definitely magic." He said, inspecting the necklace closely, he could see tiny rune carved into the crystal.

"We should get you somewhere safer Sire, if this man got in without being noticed we can't know there aren't more of them. We should also increase the security around you." Richard said, looking around again, wary of more attackers. Merlin repressed a groan when he realized that Richard would now be far more protective than he already was. He was quickly bustled back to his chambers and Richard instructed two of the knights to stay there, along with his guards, he also sent one of the knights to stand beneath Merlin's window, preventing anyone from climbing in.

"I'm going to lead a search through the rest of the castle, if anyone is hiding we will find them." Richard said, leaving the room, and motioning for Owen, Nathan, and the twins to follow. Merlin was left in the room with the Camelot Knights, all of them reluctant to leave him alone after what had just happened, seconds later Andrew came barreling in.

"Are you all right?" he asked, his voice panicked and chest heaving, he had obviously run from somewhere. "I heard what happened after the speech." He immediately began looking over his new-found king and his eyes finally landed on the torn sleeve and he grabbed his arm, inspecting Merlin's arm to see if he had been cut, after a second he released Merlin, seemingly satisfied. Then he looked around the room and practically jumped back in fear at the sight of the knights. His eyes flitted to Merlin as he swallowed thickly.

"S-sirs," he said, bowing slightly, backing away slightly.

"Relax Andrew, these are my friends," Merlin said comfortingly. "this is Gwaine, Percival, Leon, and Elyan." He said, pointing to each of them as he said their names. "Guys this is Andrew, my manservant."

"You have a manservant?" Gwaine snorted "I can't wait to see the princess's face when he hears that one." Percival smiled slightly while Leon gave the knight a disapproving glare. Andrew looked to Merlin in confusion who just laughed and shook his head.

"Merlin?" Leon spoke up and Merlin turned to him expectantly. "Do you plan on ever going back to Camelot?" he asked, a frown on his face, the others looked at him in worry.

"Yes, of course, Arthur wouldn't survive without me, I cast a protection charm on him before I left but that will only last a few months." He replied, as if there was never a doubt in the world that he would return.

"But Sire!" said Andrew, clearly distressed "You can't leave Aria, we need you!"

"Don't worry, I will return, I'll have to figure something out to be able to travel but it will work out." He said, frowning slightly, to be honest, he hadn't thought much about the schematics.

"Will you tell Arthur the truth or…" Leon asked and Merlin frowned again.

"I'm not sure, I'll have to eventually but I don't think he's ready." Merlin said and Leon nodded unhappily. After several more minor chit chat Percival spoke up.

"We should let you rest Merlin, you've had a long day." The others agreed and bid Merlin a good night, filing out of the room. Merlin looked out of the window and noticed the sun was still up. Not even remotely tired he dismissed Andrew and went for a walk.

*Merlin sighed as he walked along the battlements. He had managed to convince his guards to stay at the entrance and not to follow him on. He watched as the sun slowly sunk into the sky. The sky slowly began to turn from yellow to orange. The rays of sun breaking through the clouds made it appear as if something divine would soon descend. The beams danced on the buildings in the lower town, making them look orange, red and gold, all at once. Hints of pink soon began showing. He heard gentle laughter and singing drift up from the town as his people celebrated their prince's return and mourned the death of their king. Children played in the streets as their parents called them inside. Several of the children were playing with small balls of fire or water, the use of magic brought a gentle smile to the warlock's face.

He heard footsteps coming up behind him and stop.

"Hello, Richard." He said, not needing to look to know who it was.

"I thought I might find you here." He said, leaning against the rampart beside Merlin, watching the sunset. *

"How did you know?" Merlin asked, puzzled as he had never been up here before.

"Your father would always come up here when he needed to think, you are more like him than you know." He said and silence reigned. "I shouldn't have yelled at you Merlin, and I'm sorry, you just, you remind me so much of him." Richard's voice broke and Merlin turned to look at him, a single tear rolled down the older man's face. "I failed him, I should have been there, I should be the one laying in a grave, not him." He said, his voice heavy from guilt and sorrow. Before Merlin could object he continued. "I failed him twice now, I refuse to make it a third. That is why I am so protective of you." He said, finally turning away from the dying sun to look at Merlin. Merlin could feel a lump forming in his throat, he tried to swallow it down, but to no avail.

"I'm sorry too." He whispered "I shouldn't have been so angry at you, you were only doing what you are supposed to and you're right what I did was foolish. Perhaps I am not ready to be King, perhaps I will never be ready." Richard shook his head.

"No, I was the one in the wrong, you are more than capable of taking care of yourself, and you've had to in the past. I suppose that's why I am being so protective of you now, I failed you before and I don't want it to happen again." He said, resting a hand on Merlin's shoulder "And you are more than ready to be King, what you did may have been reckless but it was also selfless, you put others well-being before your own and that is one of the best qualities a King could have, Balinor would be proud." He said, tears of pride filling his eyes.

"Thank you, Richard, and I want you to know, you did not fail my father, you did your duty and continue to do it today, my father was proud to call you friend and would have gladly stood by you in battle."

"Thank you, Merlin, though, I would I appreciate it if you would stop climbing out of windows." Richard chuckled and Merlin laughed. The two stood there in happy silence for some time, until the moon and stars had appeared and the creatures of the night could be heard. The two finally left the battlements and went to bed, both wondering what the next day would bring.

 **-Line break- Line break yay!-I didn't die!- Yay!- I will be back!-**

Arthur and Bedivere watched the sunset as the others set up camp.

"We should reach Aria in a day or two Sire." The knight reported and Arthur nodded.

"Excellent, we will have our friends back soon, and anyone who stands in our way will die."

 ***This idea was taken from JessieJay13's To Be A King, I have received permission to take this idea and will note when I use one of her ideas.**

 **Thank you again all so much, will update ASAP but with school I'm not sure when it will be! Stay safe!**

 **Also I would love to know what you think of this chapter so please review!**


	28. Chapter 28

***ATTENTION IMPORTANT* THE LAST CHAPTER I MADE AN ERROR AND POSTED AN INCOMPLETE VERSION OF CHAPTER 27, THIS IS FIXED NOW AND THE CHAPTER IS LONGER, HAS FEWER ERRORS AND FLOWS BETTER, IT IS ALSO LONGER. I ENCOURAGE YOU TO REREAD IT IF YOU DID NOT SEE AN AUTHOR'S NOTE THE FIRST TIME AROUND.**

 **Alright now back to regular AN, I am extremely excited for this chapter to say the least, and also very anxious at what y'all will think. I would like to say guys that if you ever want to chat about this story, give me ideas, pester me for an update or with questions, or even just to threaten me or tell me who your favorite character is feel free to PM me if I'm not asleep I will probably respond within an hour or two, though forgive me if I don't reply to anything for a couple days, I go to college in the southern United States, very close to Florida and we are getting the edge of Hurricane Irma and our wifi and power might get knocked out, I should mention I am perfectly safe and not in the danger zone anyway PM me if you want to chat about the story! I would love love love it if more people talked with me about it, shout out to those who already are, you know who you are. Anyway, let's get on with the chapter. Enjoy!**

 ***Merlin POV***

Two days after Merlin and Richard had talked and the incident with the assassin had occurred Richard had increased the security around the castle an impressive amount, this, however, meant that many guards and knights were pulling double shifts, causing rising tensions between the men, Merlin needed to figure out the charm that had been around the assassin's neck soon or the men might start fighting out of irritability and sleep deprivation. Between the council meetings, training with both sword and magic, and preparing for the coronation Merlin hadn't had much time to look at it, which was why he had stayed up through the night studying it. All he could tell so far though was that it was enchanted and that is was very, very powerful, it worried him that such a thing was in the hands of his enemies and he didn't even know what it was. Andrew wondered in a few minutes after he had given up and was instead studying the dagger. He tutted at the sight of the king, disheveled and obviously exhausted at his desk.

"Did you not go to sleep last night?" he admonished, placing the tray of food on the corner of the desk.

"No, I was too busy, the sooner I figure out how that assassin got in the sooner the men can stop pulling double shifts and get some sleep." He said, yawning as he finished.

"Well, you need to get sleep too." Andrew fussed, frowning at the king.

"I'll be fine." Merlin said, waving him off, he yawned again and Andrew gave him a pointed look. Soon Merlin was dressed for training and left after shoveling down some eggs and bacon, Andrew smiled to himself when he noticed that the King had eaten more than he had when he first got here.

After training with the knights Merlin bathed and dressed in his armor, the trial for the knight who had attacked Richard was today and he had to look the part. He turned from inspecting himself in the mirror to see Andrew. The servant held a folded blue cloth, on it was a gold circlet, Merlin's crown. It was rather plain but still finely made, made for a prince. The circlet was supposed to have been given to him on his 16th birthday, the day he would have officially been named Crown Prince. Now he would only wear it until his coronation which was in a week's time, then he would have his father's crown and his status as King would be official. Merlin gently picked it up and rested it on his head, it felt strange and, perhaps because of the task he had ahead of him, extremely heavy. Next, Andrew unfolded the cloth and revealed that it was a cape, identical to what the Arian Knights wore. Merlin took it and clasped it onto his shoulders, now he truly looked the part.

His father's sword completed the look and while Merlin certainly looked like a King he didn't feel like one. He feared the task ahead because everyone was watching, this would set the tone for his reign, would he be a merciful king or a harsh one? That was what everyone would find out today, not to mention a man's life rested in Merlin's hands. Merlin could justly sentence the man to death, after all, he had threatened a guest of the King and harmed his Head Knight, both of which were punishable by death. Trying to summon Arthur in his head as a guide as to what decision to make Merlin left the room, it was time to let the people know what kind of King, what kind of man, he was.

When Merlin reached the throne room he was surprised at the number of people who had come to see the trial, including the council, he could feel Lord Malcolm's eyes on him as he walked past. He smiled softly at his friends off to one side as he took his place on the throne. He signaled to the guards for the trial to begin.

Two guards dragged the prisoner in, his hands were shackled behind him and his clothes were wrinkled and torn in several places, he looked exhausted and filthy from his time in the dungeons. The guards forced him to his knees before Merlin.

"Sir Eric you have been charged with drunken and disorderly behavior, attacking a royal guest, and wounding the Head Knight of Aria." Merlin began, staring down at the man, the prisoner kept his head bowed.

"I did not want to hurt Sir Richard, I- I didn't recognize him I was too drunk." He said, shaking his head, "I never meant to hurt Sir Richard and I never meant to cause you any insult Sire."

"And your attack on Sir Gwaine? Do you have any remorse for your attack on him?" Merlin prompted, hoping that maybe the man would just blame the alcohol and ask for forgiveness, maybe then Merlin could forgive the man completely.

"My only regret is that I did not kill him." He growled, Merlin sighed but the man continued "The "Camelotians are nothing but scum, filth that should be destroyed." For the first time, he looked up, glaring in the direction of Merlin's friends, he spit at the ground at their feet. Gwaine glared at the man and stepped forward, Leon grabbed his shoulder and shook his head, it wasn't worth it.

"Then you leave me no choice." Merlin said, and everyone watched intently "You Sir Eric are hereby stripped of your knighthood and banished from Aria, you are to leave by dawn and never return on pain of death." He said, he was giving the man the only mercy he could by not sentencing him to death, he could go to some other kingdom now, build a new life and hopefully, his hatred would die. The guards immediately hauled him to his feet.

"I am not alone in my hatred for those scum!" the ex-knight yelled as he was dragged from the room. "You will see!" the guards finally got him out of the throne room and the doors slammed closed behind them.

 ***Leon POV***

Leon was the last one out of the armory that day, he was just slower, he was busy thinking about his King. Was he safe? He was anxious at having not seen his King in so long and not knowing if the man was safe, perhaps he could find someone who could scry on him, would he be executed for having someone spy on the King using magic? That brought him to another issue altogether. Arthur was going to be furious with Merlin, and could he really lie to Arthur for Merlin? When would they go back to Camelot? When he had agreed to help, he had fully expected it to take a few months but now he wondered if it would take more time because of magic, or would it take less? These questions plagued him as he finally dragged himself out of the armory, if there was one thing he knew it was that he would need to be prepared for whatever was coming.

 ***Gwaine POV***

Gwaine was walking down the hall whistling to himself when he saw Richard coming towards him. The knight nodded to him and was about to move on when Gwaine stopped him.

"Richard." He said, and the knights stopped in his tracks "Can I call you that or should I call you Sir Richard?" the roughish knight asked.

"Richard is fine Sir Gwaine." He replied, looking at him quizzically, likely wondering why the knight had stopped him.

"Just call me Gwaine, all my friends do." Gwaine replied, grinning, then in a rare occurrence his face turned serious "I just wanted to say thank you, for the other night, and I'm sorry you got hurt, it should have been me, it was my fault" Richard shook his head.

"It was in no way your fault Gwaine, Eric was drunk and stupid, though that is still no excuse for his actions, he will be punished properly I assure you of that."

"You still shouldn't have taken that blade, you could have been killed." Richard studied the knight silently for a second.

"I was right about you Sir Gwaine, there is more than meets the eye. When I first met you I thought you were some drunk that used his nobility to get a title, but when I saw that you were friends with my prince and he trusted you I knew there had to be something more to you, something deeper, and now I see it. You care about others and you want to protect them, even when they can protect themselves, you are one of the few noblemen I have met who deserve the title."

"I'm not a nobleman." Gwaine objected and Richard just smirked.

"Do you really think I wouldn't research the men my King trusts so much?" he replied before walking away and leaving a stunned Gwaine in silence.

 ***Merlin POV***

After reassuring Richard and his friends that he was fine at least three times each Merlin finally made it to his chambers, Andrew came in but Merlin dismissed him, wanting to be alone. He collapsed on the bed, wanting to relax for a moment before bathing and dressing for bed. But the exhaustion from staying up the night before combined with the activities of the day soon had him drifting off into a blissful slumber.

 ***Arthur POV***

Arthur and five of his knights departed the main camp with instructions that if they did not return in a week to return to Camelot with word of what happened.

"Sire, are you sure this is the best course of action?" Sir Bedivere questioned, "we are going against sorcerers, it would be safer if you stayed behind."

"Enough Bedivere, we discussed this before, there is no one better than me to lead this mission and lead it I shall, we will sneak in, find the Knights and Merlin and leave with them." Arthur replied with a false confidence, in truth he knew this would likely be a suicide mission but he had to try, those men trusted him, and were his friends if he didn't try to save them what kind of King was he? What kind of friend was he?

Hours later, under the fall of night, they reached the city. They wore no capes, only because they would give them away and make their mission harder. They rode past the city guard with plain cloaks draped over their armor so they looked like mere travelers. Then came the first obstacle, getting into the castle. They wouldn't be able to sneak past the guards and they certainly couldn't climb the walls, they were far too tall and there were guards patrolling, instead, they would have to get rid of the guards. Arthur, still in the cloak that hid his armor walked up to the guards.

"Good evening gentlemen." He said and the guards looked at him suspiciously.

"Good evening." One of them replied. "Can we help you?" he asked, not unkindly but with a tone that suggested he was taking no nonsense.

"I was hoping so, I wanted to inquire after lodges for the night. I am a traveler and have stopped in the city for the night and was wondering if I could trouble you for a bed and a hot meal." Arthur said, taking a step back, the guards unconsciously followed him, perfect.

"There are inns in the city, why come to the castle?" one of them asked, confusion taking over from suspicion.

"I am low on coin at the moment and hope to trade some of my wares in the market tomorrow, alas no one will lodge me without immediate payment." Arthur lied, one of them bit his lip nervously and was about to reply when suddenly Arthur's knights sprung up behind them, knocking them out.

"Good work," Arthur said and began searching the men for keys to the gate, this wasn't the main gate to the castle so it did not require it to be lifted inside, instead it was a much smaller gate that was mostly used for servants. Finally, he found the keys and the group entered the castle grounds after hiding the bodies of the guards in some nearby shrubbery. After using the guard's keys again, they succeeded in infiltrating the castle. The group huddled together in the hall.

"You four go to the east, try to find an entrance to the dungeons and try to find the others. You," he said, pointing towards Sir Gavin. "Come with me." The young knight nodded eagerly and Sir Bedivere looked as though he wanted to argue but wisely kept his mouth shut. "Meet back in front of the gate in two hours."

The group separated and Arthur and Gavin went West, soon the two came on a turn and Arthur pointed down the hall.

"You go that way, see what you can find." The knight obeyed and Arthur was left alone, he heard heavy footsteps and realized it was probably guards making their rounds. He spotted several doors further down and ran for them.

Arthur snuck into the nearest room and had to suppress a curse when he saw that is was the servant's quarters, a row of bed on both sides held sleeping figures. He didn't see any armor, boots, or weapons and knew it couldn't be the barracks, therefore it was most likely the servant's quarters. He would never find his men alone but perhaps if he woke one the servants he could force them to tell him where Merlin and his men were, though he was sure that his men were in the dungeons, he would just first ask about Merlin. Drawing his sword as quietly as possible he snuck over to the nearest bed. He held the tip of the blade to the servant's throat and shook him awake, holding a finger to his mouth to signal to the man that he should keep quiet. The brunet servant woke with a start and was about to cry out but stopped himself at the sight of the blade. Arthur felt guilty at the fear in the man's eye but motioned him to rise, he did so and Arthur pulled him the side, not wanting to alert anyone else to his presence. He grabbed the man by the front of his shirt to prevent him from running.

"I'm looking for someone." Arthur said quietly "you can either tell me and go back to sleep and pretend this never happened or you can refuse and we will do this the hard way." The guilt Arthur felt rose, he didn't want to threaten this poor man, it wasn't his fault that Merlin was a captive here, but he had no choice, he had to find Merlin. The man looked at him in apprehension but said nothing.

"There's a boy, well a man now, his name is Merlin." The servant's eyes lit up in recognition at the name, good, at least Arthur wouldn't have to explain who Merlin was, it would have taken more time. "Where is he?" he growled, as menacing as he could make himself sound. The servant's eyes changed from those of recognition to those of someone angry yet determined.

"I will tell you nothing." He spat, and Arthur frowned, Merlin was just a prisoner here, why was this man so angry at Arthur wanting to find him, he was just here to save him, the servant used his pause against him, however. The man started yelling loudly as he tried to get out of Arthur's grip.

"GUARDS! GUARDS!" he hollered and Arthur swore, loudly. He pulled the man in, spinning him around and pressing him against his chest, a sword to his captive's throat. The servants awoke and several of them screamed before fleeing the room, seconds later guards began pouring in, swords drawn. Arthur was quickly surrounded, though none of them dared attack, they didn't want to risk the servant.

"I just want Merlin." Arthur said, trying to begin an exchange, instead the guards seemed to only get angrier. They tightened their grips on their swords and glared at him.

"Get the king." One of them growled to one of the men at the back, the guard nodded before taking off, running to get the King of Aria. Arthur couldn't help but wonder if any of these guards had magic, this only made him eye them warily as they all waited in silence for whoever was coming.

 ***Merlin POV***

Merlin awoke to muffled arguing, the first thing he noticed was that he had fallen asleep with his finery, chainmail, and cape still on, the thin crown had fallen off onto his pillow. He grabbed it before making his way to the door and opening it, he was greeted by the site of his guards arguing with a third guard.

"There's a man in the servant quarters I must speak to the king." He said, exasperated. He then spotted Merlin and hastily bowed. "Sire, I'm sorry to disturb your sleep but there's an emergency." He said.

"It's fine, what's going on?" he questioned, worried, just then Sir Nathan rounded the corner and frowned at the sight before the young king's door.

"Sire, is everything well? I was coming to check on you." He said, approaching quickly. Merlin turned to the guard for an answer.

"I was on duty near the servant's quarters and we heard one of the servants call for us, next thing we knew all of the servants were running from the room and we went in. There's a man in there, he's holding your servant, Andrew, hostage and demanding to see you, Sire." He reported, the words coming out so fast Merlin was barely able to understand, but he got enough. Immediately he took off towards the servant's quarters, Nathan and the three guards right behind him.

Merlin stormed down the hallway his cloak billowing out behind him. Realizing he was still carrying the crown he put it the only place he really could, his head. Soon they arrived at the servant's quarters and Merlin sent a wave of magic at the door, blasting it open. Merlin was furious, someone had broken into his home and was threatening his servant, his friend.

"What's going on?" he demanded, his rage barely withheld. He looked around the room and found that the guard were all looking towards a figure in the middle, sword pointed towards the man. The man himself was holding Andrew hostage, a sword pressed to his throat. It took a second for Merlin to fully process who stood before him, it was Arthur.

 ***Arthur POV***

Arthur whirled around as the door blew open and a strangely familiar voice demanded to know what was happening. Arthur breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Merlin and unthinkingly went to grab him and pull him behind him protectively. The second Arthur went for Merlin the guards closed ranks, blocking him from the man, one man even let out a low growl. A knight who had been standing behind Merlin stepped in front of him, drawing his sword. Arthur recognized the knight to be Sir Nathan, one of the men who had come to Camelot to ask for his help. Arthur briefly wondered why they were so protective of Merlin, was he not just a prisoner to them? If that was the case why was Merlin the one demanding to know what was going on, which led him to his next question, what was going on? The guards were in defensive positions, defending Nathan? No, defending Merlin, but why- one of the guards shifted slightly and Arthur was able to get a good glimpse of Merlin and his thoughts were cut off.

There stood Merlin, with the air of a king, like what Arthur had seen in his dreams, only it was also mixed with a fury that Arthur never thought could come from someone as kind as his servant. Merlin glared at him before a flicker of recognition shot across his face and he paled considerably, but that wasn't the strangest part. Above anything else, the guard's behavior, the air around Merlin, even the door being blown off its hinges, the strangest thing was Merlin's clothes.

He wore chain mail and armor, strangely thin armor that Arthur felt wouldn't protect the man from anything. Around his shoulders sat a deep blue cloak that disappeared behind him and when Merlin shifted slightly he caught a glimpse of a silver dragon and he realized it was likely the crest of the House of Ambrosius, but why would Merlin wear that? It finally sunk in when he saw the final piece the puzzle, a thin gold circlet on Merlin's head. Merlin was the long-lost prince.

In his shock, Arthur's grip on his sword loosened, the guards took advantage of the distraction and surged forward, yanking the servant away from him, his sword clattered to the ground as two of them grabbed him from behind and forced him to his knees, pinning his arms to his sides, a third picked up Excalibur. Arthur barely noticed any of this, however, too busy staring at Merlin.

"Merlin?" he whispered, his voice breaking with betrayal. Then one of the guards hit him across the back of the head and everything went fuzzy. The last thing he heard or saw was Merlin yelling and running forward as he fell to the floor, then everything went black.

 ***Merlin POV***

Merlin watched in horror as Arthur finally put the pieces together. A range of emotions crossed his face, amazement, curiosity, anger, and finally the most heartbreaking one, betrayal. Then the guards surged forward and pulled Andrew away, another yanked away Excalibur while two others came up behind him and grabbed him before forcing him to his knees. He was too busy trying to figure out what to say to Arthur to stop one of the guards as the guard hit him with the pommel of his sword. Merlin ran forward yelling at the man for his actions as Arthur fell to the ground, he couldn't catch him in time and Arthur's head hit the ground. Merlin fell to his knees beside the limp blond and lifted him into his arms gently.

"Arthur, Arthur come one wake up." But he didn't, the steady rise and fall of his chest Merlin's only comfort.

 **For two years I've been building up to this chapter, two years of crafting and twisting, placing subtle things so it could all come together in this chapter, the entire story formed around one scene, and it's finally here. I have played a massive game of figurative chess with the characters and items, constantly putting new pieces on the board and moving others, ensuring that everything is where it needed to be and in the end it was and I hope you all are as happy with this chapter as I am. So please even if you have never reviewed**

 **So please even if you have never reviewed before and you think this story is just meh, please review and tell me what you think of this chapter.**

 **Thank you all for the continued support, see you next time!**


	29. Chapter 29

**AN: So this Author's Note is going to take a more serious note than normal guys but I feel the need to say this. Wear your seatbelt, I don't care if you're going for a short little drive across a parking lot, wear your seatbelt. I say this because I was in a wreck last Wednesday and if either me or the driver hadn't been wearing our seatbelts we would both be dead or in the hospital, and if you don't care if you die do it for the others in the car because with the way that wreck happened if the driver had not been buckled she would have killed me too, because our car was on its side, my side of the car was on the ground hers was in the air and if she hadn't been buckled then she would have fallen on me and either hurt me or killed me and then the car would have flipped and I don't know what would have happened, honestly it was a miracle the car didn't flip in the first place. SO yeah, long story short WEAR YOUR SEAT BELT. Now on to less serious stuff.**

 **Sorry I didn't update last week much is going on with school right now and I have begun to DM a D &D campaign so that took some time too. I hope you all enjoy this next chapter! To all the people that messaged/reviewed asking for an update here it is! And to the people that asked if I was leaving it, absolutely not, I actually have it arranged with a friend that if I somehow die she will finish this so yeah, I'm pretty dedicated to this story. **

***Merlin POV***

Merlin cradled Arthur's head in his lap, checking for any visible injuries, finding nothing he sent a small probe of magic into Arthur, checking for any swelling of the brain. He found none and allowed himself to relax slightly. He glared up at the guard who had hit Arthur.

"Why did you do that?" he growled, "He was unarmed and unable to escape, you could have hurt him!" he raged, his fear of Arthur's reaction and the thought of Arthur being hurt turning into anger towards this man who had hurt his best friend, and perhaps he was being unfair, but he couldn't find the will to care about that at the moment. The man stepped back slightly, surprised at his king's reaction.

"I-I'm sorry Sire I merely thought-" he began.

"I know what you thought." Merlin interrupted, not wanting to hear the man's excuse, he then turned to the man holding Excalibur. "Put that down." He ordered, and the man immediately obeyed, not wanting to get yelled at as well. "have the servant's prepare a guest chamber." Merlin ordered one guard.

"But sire should he not be taken to the dungeons? He broke into the castle and-" the guard argued but a sharp glare from both Merlin and Nathan shut him up and he nodded before running off to find some servants. Merlin turned to a shaken-looking Andrew.

"Are you injured?" Merlin asked and the servant shook his head no Merlin nodded, he hadn't expected Arthur to have wounded the man, though he wouldn't expect Arthur to take a man hostage either. Something then occurred to Merlin and he cursed.

"Search the castle, Arthur isn't stupid enough to have come alone, don't harm anyone you find, just put them in the dungeon," Merlin ordered a nearby guard who nodded and ran from the room, several others following. The guard who had been sent for the servant returned a few minutes later.

"The room is being prepared now." He said, bowing to him, Merlin nodded before casting a levitation spell on Arthur and picking up Excalibur, he trusted no one with the legendary blade. Merlin's guards and Nathan followed him to the wing of the castle reserved for guests, to the corridor where the Knights of Camelot now slept, unaware of the proximity of their king. Merlin used his magic to quickly take off Arthur's armor, handing it off to one of the guards with the order that it be cleaned and polished. He kept Excalibur with him, reluctant to allow Arthur the blade when he would may wake in a panic. With the order to have guards at the chamber doors, to treat Arthur with respect, and to lead him to Merlin when he awoke, Merlin left the room, finally heading back to his own chambers.

 ***Gavin POV***

Gavin slipped down the hallway the king had ordered him to go down, soon he began seeing doors in the passage, poking his head in one he found it to be a storage room. He continued a way before coming on another intersection, one hallway branched to the right while the other went left, hearing running footsteps he hurled himself into one of the storage rooms and waited, the steps faded to the right hallway and a minute later Gavin followed slowly. Creeping down the hallway as silently as he could he spotted a dark alcove up ahead, just in time it seemed as he heard even more steps rushing towards him. He wandered down the hallway for some time, turning on occasion and making sure he knew the way back, about an hour later, having still found nothing he decided to make his way back. He had just passed a set of oak doors that he recognized from his first pass when he heard steps leading his way, he quietly slipped in the room, closing the door behind him. He slipped into the room and positioned himself behind the door so that no one would see him if they entered. He gave a quick look around the room and found himself in a bedchamber, a very nice bedchamber. A room fit for a king.

 ***Merlin POV***

Merlin walked back to his room, exhaustion making his eyelids droop, Nathan watched him carefully the entire way, Merlin's guards a respectable distance behind the two. When Merlin made it to his room he went in, nodding at a worried looking Nathan before disappearing. Normally he would be too wound up to sleep after what had just happened but due to the events of the past few days, his exhaustion was too much for him. He undid the sword belt and let it fall to the floor. Merlin then reached up to undo the clasp around his neck. Before his hands could reach his neck however someone grabbed him from behind and pressed a sword to his throat.

"Don't say word, don't cry out." A slightly shaky voice said. Merlin froze and slowly dropped his hands to his sides.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice cold "did my uncle send you?" there was a slight gasp behind him and suddenly he was being whirled around, the man slammed Merlin against the bedpost and put the sword back to his throat.

"Merlin?" the voice asked, confused. "You're King Arthur's servant, aren't you?" Merlin blinked as he stared at his attacker, it took him a second but he finally recognized him to be Sir Gavin, a newer knight of Arthur's.

"What are you doing here? How did you get in here?" Merlin asked, a slightly panicked feeling rising in his chest, he didn't want to use magic against this man as Arthur may only use it against him but if the knight connected the dots and figured out who and what Merlin was…

Fortunately, the man seemed too shocked to figure it out quite yet and answered Merlin's questions.

"I came with King Arthur, we came to rescue you, and the others that traveled with you" Here Gavin paused, "Why are you dressed like that?" a flicker of betrayal and disbelief lit his eyes, he pressed the sword further into his neck. Merlin frowned in confusion, rescue them? They had come of their own free will… unless, unless Arthur had somehow found out, found out that Aria not only allowed magic but embraced it.

"Sir Gavin, take the sword away and we'll talk." Merlin tried to reason but Gavin shook his head.

"Explain first and then we can talk." He replied. Merlin thought quickly, he couldn't tell the man the truth, not when there was a sword pressed to his throat. For once he was grateful for the increased security, specifically the guards outside his chambers, 4 of them if he remembered correctly, but two would be enough. His eyes flashed gold and the hilt of the knight's sword glowed red hot. The knight cried out in pain as he jerked his hand back, letting the offending object clatter to the ground. Merlin then jumped further back, towards the back wall.

"GUARDS!" He cried and seconds later his chamber doors burst open to reveal the four guards, weapons drawn, they took in the scene in seconds and two ran for Gavin while one went to Merlin, the fourth blocked the exit. Gavin lunged for his sword but he was too late as one of the guards kicked it, sending it spinning under the bed. The other guard who had gone for Gavin held his sword to the intruders throat. The guard with Merlin positioned himself in front of the king, ready should the attacker get past the other two.

Gavin remained frozen where he was, his arm still stretched out to get his sword, he seemed to be calculating something in his head. Merlin pulled out the last card he had, not wanting the knights to hurt himself or someone else in a last desperate attempt.

"We've already captured Arthur." Merlin said, wincing at the term he had used "There's no point in fighting, "you'll only be wounded." The knight seemed to weigh Merlin's words for a second.

"Why not take me by force?" he asked, glaring at Merlin "I am unarmed, you are obviously at an advantage."

"I don't want you to be hurt, you do not fully understand the situation, I see no reason that you should be blamed for ignorance." Merlin tried, Gavin scoffed in response.

"I will tell you what I understand, _Sorcerer_." He spat, anger flaring in his eyes as he straightened up, "You are a traitor to Camelot, a liar, and a spy. You disguised yourself as a servant in Camelot and lured King Arthur here, to this accursed kingdom." The guard who had kicked the sword out of the way grabbed the knight by the shoulder and forced him to kneel.

"Silence scum, you will hold your tongue before the king or it will be cut out." He growled the knight's eyes widened at the revelation that Merlin was in fact, King.

"Do not make such threats," Merlin said glaring at the guard, he then turned to the knight "You will not be harmed if you do not fight." He said but the man just eyed him warily, saying nothing.

"Take him to the dungeon and assist the others in searching the castle." He ordered the two near Gavin, they nodded before hauling the knight to his feet, pinning his arms behind him as they marched him from the room, the other two guards turned to him for instructions.

"You two go back to your posts, I am going to try to get some rest, it appears tomorrow will be busier than I thought." The guards nodded before bowing and leaving, closing the chamber doors behind them. Merlin quickly shed the rest of his finery before throwing on his sleeping clothes and collapsing into bed, falling asleep within seconds of his head hitting the pillow.

 ***Bedivere POV***

After reluctantly separating from his king, Bedivere lead the men with him to the east, after a series of randomly chosen twists and turns, which they made sure to subtly mark in order to make their way back, they turned a corner and Sir Bedivere heard footsteps and looked around the hall, there was nowhere to hide the only choice would be to stand and fight, they drew their swords and waited for the steps to round the corner.

 ***Gwaine POV***

Gwaine wasn't quite sure how he felt, Sir Richard knew he was nobility. How had the man found out? Would he do anything with the information? Use it against him? He quickly dismissed the idea of Richard blackmailing him, the Head Knight of Aria was an honest man, one who would not stoop to blackmail. He would try to talk to him, he decided, make sure he wasn't going to tell anyone else his secret.

His footsteps echoed off the stone walls of the silent hallways, it was late and he was returning from going to the tavern again with Nathan and few of the others. He heard a slight noise ahead and tensed, he had just passed a patrol a few minutes ago, no one should be in this hall. He gripped the hilt of his sword, reluctant to draw it if there was no threat and it was merely a servant working late or something, he didn't want to frighten anyone. He drew his weapon partially out of its sheath and rounded the corner, freezing at what he saw.

There before him, weapons drawn and one with a sword leveled at his throat stood four men, men he recognized as his comrades-in-arms. The one who had a sword to his throat was Sir Bedivere and the fact that he was here… Arthur would likely be nearby.

"Sir Gwaine?" Bedivere hissed, and angry confused expression on his face. Gwaine had never really gotten along with Bedivere, the man was very traditional and was cold towards the knights who were not born into nobility, never quite accepting them. But that wasn't Gwaine's only problem with the man, he had been one of Uther's most trusted knights, he had hated Gwaine and Lancelot especially when they first joined the Knights of Camelot, no doubt remembering their banishments. He also despised magic, despised anyone who used it and that was the most dangerous thing about the man, especially here, in Aria, near Merlin.

"What are you doing here?" Gwaine asked, alarmed, he had to get Bedivere out of here, or unarmed. The other knight lowered his sword, but did not sheath it, Gwaine kept his mostly drawn, sensing trouble.

"We're here to rescue you, you fool." He hissed "And keep your voice down we don't want to be discovered."

Oh yes he did, he definitely wanted them to be discovered, the sooner these men were unarmed, the sooner everyone in this castle was safe, so he ignored the last thing that was said, in fact, he raised his voice a little bit.

"Rescue us? We don't need rescuing, we came here of our own free will to aid Aria in its war." He said back and Bedivere winced at the volume and Gwaine thought he heard noise from the hallway he had just come down.

"Then you are a bigger fool than I thought." Bedivere growled "Arians have _magic_ " he spit out the word, as if disgusted with himself for even saying it.

"I know," Gwaine answered, an underlying defiance in his tone and Bedivere's gaze filled with shock quickly replaced by a burning rage.

"Traitor." He growled, his voice low and dangerous, suddenly he brought his sword up, ready to strike Gwaine but he was prepared for this and in a second ripped his sword from its sheath and jumped back, dodging the blow.

"I am not a traitor, but I will stand by my friends." He replied, he wasn't betraying Arthur, he was defending his friend, he was defending Merlin. Before either of the men could speak however there was the sound of running boots and suddenly from around the corner came 5 Knights of Aria, two of them Gwaine recognized from the night at the tavern, they had been companions to the Eric, the ex-knight who had attacked him, and wounded Richard. They all had their swords drawn and the one at the front of the group stared at the scene in growing anger. Gwaine and Bedivere had both turned at the sound of the steps, turned so that they were facing the Arian knights, swords drawn and angry expressions.

"I knew it!" the Arian knight hissed, glaring at Gwaine "You were planning this the entire time! Gain our king's trust and let your friends in to kill him." The other knights behind him looked furious. Gwaine had to figure out how to clarify the situation, how to get them to calm down but then he saw something in the Arian knight's eye, a gleam of triumph. That gleam told him that the man had been looking for something to bring him down, to destroy him, there would be no getting out of this without a fight. But then Gwaine saw his saving grace, Thomas, walking down the hallway, on his way back from the tavern. Thomas saw the situation and hurried forward, drawing his weapon as he ran.

"What's going on?" he barked, coming up beside the other Arian Knights.

" _Sir Gwaine_ " the knight sneered, "has allowed more knights of Camelot into the castle, they no doubt plan to kill the king." Thomas looked at him.

"What is the meaning of this Gwaine, does he speak the truth?" he demanded, his voice lined with doubt, doubt in the other knight's story or in Gwaine, he couldn't know.

"No, I did not let them in, I just came across them myself, I don't know how they got in but I can tell you they're not here to kill anyone." He said, trying his best to calm the situation as well as avoiding saying Merlin's name, it would only make Bedivere realize exactly who Merlin was in Aria and therefore make the situation worse. Thomas hesitated, Gwaine didn't know the man well, or his twin for that matter, hadn't had much chance to get to know him, neither had Thomas gotten to know Gwaine. The man seemed torn, trust the men he had fought side by side with or trust Gwaine, a man he barely knew. Gwaine couldn't fault him for what he said next.

"Forgive me Sir Gwaine but that does not look to be the case, lay down your weapons and surrender, you will not be harmed, I cannot promise the same if you fight." He said, his voice cold. Gwaine hesitated a second longer, eying the Arian knights and Bedivere cautiously, finally, he nodded and laid the sword on the ground. Bedivere had been silent during the exchange, likely calculating his odds and their best options, Gwaine expected the man to fight, even if it got them all killed but to his shock he motioned for the others to surrender as he laid his own weapon on the ground, a strange gleam in his eye as he looked at Gwaine. Immediately the Arian knights took their swords and arrested them, being none too gentle with them. They hauled them to the nearby dungeons and left them in the cells, Thomas muttering to the others to post guards at the chambers of the other Camelot knights, just in case.

Once the Arian knights had left Gwaine whirled on Bedivere.

"What are you planning?" he growled, slamming the other knight into a wall, the two had been put in one cell together while the rest of the men with Bedivere had been put into another. Bedivere winced slightly at the impact with the wall but merely glared at the him and said nothing.

"Why did you surrender? Where's Arthur?" he asked, growing panic rising in his chest, Bedivere had surrendered, something he would only do if he knew they would be rescued, which lead to the question of Arthur, he wouldn't have been on the sidelines on this, he would have gone with them, meaning he was somewhere in the castle right now, he should have warned Thomas.

"I will tell you nothing traitor." He growled and Gwaine glared at him.

"I am no traitor, I have not betrayed Arthur." He replied back and the other knight smirked.

"You are helping a magical kingdom to fight and gain more power, maybe you are under a spell, though knowing you Gwaine you are doing it because they've offered you ale. You have no sense of honor, no sense of duty, you are nothing but a drunk with a little bit of skill with a blade, had Arthur not been desperate he never would have considered knighting someone like you, like the others." He said, doing his best to hurt Gwaine, purposefully leaving out Gwaine's title, and using his past against him. Bedivere saw that his words struck home and smirked at him. "the King will punish you for your betrayal Gwaine, and I will watch and know that finally Camelot is being restored to order, that foolish servant will be next."

 ***Arthur POV***

When Arthur awoke, it took a moment for him to fight through the fog of pain and to process all that happened. Once he did he shot up in the bed he was laying in, his head spun slightly at the dizzy feeling that came with sitting up quickly. A bed, he was in a bed, that was unexpected, he would have expected to be chained up in a dungeon somewhere. Instead, he was on a large feather bed that had royal blue covers, blue like the capes of the Knights of Aria, blue like the cape that Merlin wore. Looking around the room he was surprised at how spacious it was, a small dining table was off the left with a desk and chair a little way away, a dresser and window were on the other side.

Arthur swung his legs over the bed and was surprised to find lush carpet instead of the cold floor he was used to, he wriggled his bare toes for a second, taking pleasure in the warmth of it. Walking over to the window he saw the city of Aria below him, the people going about their day and from the position of the sun in the sky Arthur figured it was around midday. He watched the people silently and recoiled slightly when he saw and young girl giggling as her eyes glowed gold and a sphere of water was thrown at a small boy. The boy looked frustrated before his eyes flashed too and a bucket of water fell on the girl's head, making her shriek as the cold water soaked her. Arthur felt repulsed yet intrigued at the same time, he tried to force himself not to watch yet he couldn't help himself, there was something so innocent about the children. They probably hadn't been corrupted yet.

He looked around the room and frowned when he realized that his armor and sword had been taken, reasonably he supposed but still annoying, he quite liked that sword. Now he just had to figure out what the hell was going on, based on the clothes he had seen Merlin in last night… no surely he was wrong, Merlin was, well, Merlin, he couldn't be some magic-wielding prince, or was he the king, the guards had said king, did Merlin somehow have a son and he was the long-lost prince? No that wouldn't make sense, if Merlin truly was royalty than he was the prince, but then why had the guards said king? Arthur's head pounded, the hit on the head from the night before and trying to figure everything out giving him a migraine. Giving up on trying to figure things out on his own he went for the door.

He tried the handle but found it locked from the outside, then he realized he was still probably a prisoner, a well-treated one, yes, but still a prisoner. He knocked on the door and heard a jangle of keys a second later, the door swung open to reveal two Arian guards glaring at him. They said nothing but one motioned for him to follow and when he did the other fell behind him, confirming Arthur's thoughts of being a prisoner. As they walked through the halls Arthur couldn't help but admire the architecture and decorations. He warily noted the many patrols and guards they passed, almost all of who watched him with equal wariness. They soon reached a large set of double doors that had two guards standing in front of it. The guard leading the way motioned for them to open the doors and after a glare at Arthur, they did so, and a site greeted Arthur that confirmed his fears.

Merlin stood at a table covered in various charts and maps, he was surrounded by knights and what looked to be councilors and they appeared to be discussing something. Merlin was in deep conversation and appeared to be arguing with one council member, gesturing to a spot on a map. It took a few minutes but Merlin finally looked up when the room was completely silent, everyone staring at Arthur, the knights in the room rested their hands on their swords, and looked to Merlin for direction. Merlin met Arthur's eyes before straitening up.

"Leave us." He ordered and one by one the councilors and knights bowed and left, the knights sending warning looks to Arthur, finally, it was only him, Merlin, Sir Richard and four guards left. "I said leave." Merlin said, looking at Richard who stared straight back, unmoving, this went on for a minute before finally Richard bowed and left, not looking at Arthur. The guards stayed and Merlin gave them an annoyed glare. "That includes you."

"But sire-" began one, looking at Arthur cautiously but Merlin cut him off.

"I said you are dismissed." He said, his voice warranting no argument. The guards reluctantly bowed and left, giving Arthur one last glare before closing the doors behind them, leaving the two alone.

 **AN: I know I know, how could I end it there? It just fit, that's how, I know you were all looking forward to this chapter having the Merlin/Arthur convo but it didn't work out, though it will definitely be next chapter! (obviously). Hope ypu enjoyed and please review till next time! Wear your seatbelts!**


	30. Chapter 30

**AN: I'm back, thank you to all those who sent well wishes, and yes I am fine, the only injuries anyone in the wreck sustained was bumps and bruises, somehow. Anyway thank you all for your patience and support. I will officalialy be going to Bi-weekly for at least a little while as school is swamping me. Hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

 **HERE IT IS, THE CHAPTER YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR...**

 ***Arthur POV***

"King Merlin," Arthur said coldly, nodding at him, he had no choice but to be at least polite to Merlin, he was a king after all and Arthur was his prisoner, not that that stopped him from looking throughout the room for an escape route. On the far wall was a small door, likely used for servants and hopefully unguarded, if he somehow got a sword maybe he could get out. He found himself eying the sword at Merlin's waist, it was finely made, fit for someone of Merlin's apparent station. "I see you lied about many things." He said, looking pointedly at the weapon. Merlin shuffled slightly and Arthur looked back to his face.

"I had to, Arthur," Merlin said, a pained expression on his face. Arthur said nothing. "If I had told you the truth you would have either laughed in my face or killed me." He continued and Arthur felt a surge of pain in his chest at the thought that Merlin never trusted him, despite all that Arthur had trusted him with. He was tempted to tell Merlin that he never would have done that, but he realized that would be a lie.

"Something tells me you would have been able to handle yourself if I tried to end you," Arthur said instead, making it clear that he had figured out the other truth about Merlin. Merlin's shoulders seemed to sag when he said that and he ran a tired hand over his face.

"I would never hurt you, Arthur." He said, looking at him sadly "I only ever used my magic for good, for you, and for Camelot."

"Lies, you are nothing but a _sorcerer_ and a liar!" he spat, forcing himself to stand still. He couldn't let his rage take over or those guards would be called and then he probably _would_ be put in the dungeons. If that happened then he would have no chance of escape. He prayed that his men were safe and had somehow escaped capture.

He looked to Merlin and felt a twinge of guilt at the hurt of his face from Arthur's words.

"Tell me, Merlin, when did you learn magic? When did you betray me?" he asked. Truthfully, he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer, but something in him demanded he asked. "Were you ever truly my friend? Or did you come to Camelot to trick me?"

"I was always your friend Arthur, I never betrayed you. I never learned magic either, I was born with it." He answered, his voice pleading, needing Arthur to understand, to accept him. Arthur stared at him, too shocked to be angry.

"You're lying, no one is born with magic, you have to learn it."

"Some people learn it, yes, they are sorcerers and sorceresses, they study for years to obtain the power that some people are born with. Those who are born with it must learn to control it, they are Warlocks and Witches, frequently more powerful than those who learn it, I am a Warlock."

Arthur shook his head, if what Merlin was saying was true then his father had killed people who didn't have a choice in who they were, and Arthur refused to believe that.

"You're lying," he said, backing away.

"I'm not, tell me Arthur, those children that were killed for having magic, children no older than 8, when would they have learned magic? Some of them couldn't even read yet, and they somehow learned what takes grown men and women years to learn and master? Think about it Arthur and tell me I'm lying." Merlin took a step towards him, beseeching him to understand. Arthur stepped back again, he couldn't believe it, he couldn't, but those children he had seen playing, playing with magic, were they born with magic?

"It still corrupts" he tried.

"All power corrupts some people, Arthur, though not all people become corrupt. A king may rise to the throne and become a tyrant, or he might be a kind king that helps his kingdom prosper"

"Morgana, did she learn magic or-?" Arthur asked, unsure if he wanted to know the answer.

"Morgana was born with magic, it didn't manifest until later but that's normal. She was not corrupted by magic, but by fear. She feared Uther and his hatred for magic, she let that fear turn to hatred. I blame myself for what happened to Morgana. I should have told her about my magic, I should have helped her, instead I let my own fear control me." Merlin said sadly and Arthur saw his friends face fill with true regret.

His friend, Arthur had thought the man before him was a friend, someone who knew everything about him and he knew everything about, oh how wrong he had been. He knew nothing of Merlin, how much of what Merlin had said had been lies? What else wasn't Merlin telling him? Was Merlin evil? He found himself asking, part of him said of course he was, another part who knew Merlin, a part that remembered the dreams he'd been having, and remembered all the times Merlin had been there for him said he wasn't. But magic had to be evil, if it wasn't then what did that mean about his father, about him?

"Where are my men?" Arthur asked coldly, deciding to leave those thoughts for later. Merlin sighed.

"They're fine, they know the truth and have accepted it, they are free to leave anytime."

"And me?" Arthur asked, he didn't inquire after the men who had accompanied him into the castle, it appeared Merlin didn't know about them, though he would have to deal with his knights, he was especially surprised at Leon and Elyan.

"I would never force you to do anything against your will Arthur, you are free to go, though I ask you go softly on the knights, they were only being good friends."

"And my sword and armor?"

"Both have been polished and cared for, they will be returned to you when you leave, you are welcome to stay as well." Arthur opened his mouth to say he wanted to leave immediately when there was a knock at the door. Merlin looked at it in annoyance.

"Enter." He called and Thomas came in, the man studied him warily before bowing to Merlin. It was weird, seeing someone bow to Merlin, recognizing him as their superior.

"My lord there is something important I must to tell you."

"What is it?" Merlin asked, sighing.

"I don't believe I should say it in the present company sire." He said, looking at Arthur cautiously.

"Whatever you have to say, Arthur can hear." The knight looked doubtful but continued anyway.

"Last night we found four Knights of Camelot in the castle," the knight hesitated slightly before continuing "Sir Gwaine appeared to have been aiding them, all five were taken to the dungeons."

Arthur swore silently to himself, so his men were captured, on the bright side, it seemed Gwaine had tried to help them. Merlin simply seemed confused and hurt.

"Are you sure? Gwaine was helping them?"

"He claimed he wasn't my lord, but the way it looked…" The knight shook his head. "It didn't look good My Lord but he did surrender easily enough, the men with him as well."

Both kings frowned.

"What exactly happened Thomas?" Merlin asked and the knight told them how he had come across the confrontation and of the result. "I'll speak with Gwaine, hear his side of the story, Merlin decided, beginning to make his way to the door, he turned and motioned to Arthur. "It would be best if you came too Arthur, that way you can see your men, I know you're worried about them."

Arthur couldn't deny it, Merlin knew him too well. Despite wanting to get as far from this kingdom and its magic users as possible, away from Merin, he followed, too concerned for his men. Two guards fell into step behind Merlin as he left the throne room, the two guards who had apparently been assigned to him followed as well. It was silent as they walked to the dungeons, he saw Merlin glance back at him occasionally but Arthur just stared ahead, his face hard and unyielding.

 ***Leon POV***

The first thing that struck Leon as strange that morning was the guard outside of the guest room he was in, as well as the other's rooms, though he noted there was none in front of the room Gwaine was staying in. When the guard followed him, Leon questioned him but the man refused to give him answers, he went to the small dining room that they often took meals in. Soon after Percival and Elyan joined him, guards in tow. Percival was glaring at his guard, who looked rather nervous, Elyan's guard was pale and Leon assumes the man had either threatened him or cussed him out.

"Where's Gwaine." Elyan asked, looking around the room "and why is this lot following us around?" he motioned towards where the guards had taken up posts.

"I have no idea, but hopefully we can ask one of the knights or Merlin when we see them, we can look after we eat." Leon answered and the others accepted this and they sat down to eat.

It was midday before Leon found anyone, the other two had split up to cover more ground. Leon finally spotted Richard in a hallway near the council chambers, the knight looked frustrated and normally Leon wouldn't bother a man with such an expression but he was worried about Gwaine.

"Sir Richard!" Leon called and the knight looked up, the two met in the hallway.

"What can I help you with Sir Leon?" he asked, his voice wary.

"I was wondering where Sir Gwaine is and why we have guards following us everywhere?" Leon asked and Richard frowned.

"You mean they didn't tell you?" he asked and Leon shook his head, Richard sent a warning look to the guard behind him who stepped back slightly, knowing he was in trouble. "Last night several intruders broke into the castle, it appeared that Sir Gwaine was helping them and he was arrested, as a precaution guards were posted outside of your rooms." He answered and Leon could tell the man wasn't telling him everything.

"What intruders and why would Gwaine help them?" Leon pryed.

"They were Knights of Camelot." Leon froze at these words.

"Where are they?" he asked and soon he was heading to the East wing of the castle. After threatening the dungeon guard with a pissed off Merlin, Leon managed to be admitted into the dungeon. He skidded to a stop at the sight that greeted him when he got to the cell, there standing before a cell was his king.

 ***Merlin POV***

When he and Arthur made it to the dungeons the guards quickly unlocked the door and let them down, Merlin instructed the guards who were following Arthur to stay behind and one of the dungeon guards led them to the cell that held Gwaine and Sir Bedivere.

"Sire," Bedivere said, standing at the sight of Arthur.

"Hello, Princess." Gwaine drawled, a lazy grin spreading across his face as he remained seated. Arthur scowled at him as Bedivere glared.

"Stand in the presence of the King, _Sir_ Gwaine," Bedivere growled.

"Oh, so now you're using my title," Gwaine replied, but still jumped to his feet, mock bowing to Arthur as he did. Arthur glared at him, but the knight nodded respectfully and he knew the man was only joking, he wasn't too surprised to see Gwaine also nod at Merlin. Bedivere finally seemed to notice Merlin standing there and at first dismissed him but quickly did a double take, taking in his clothes. Today Merlin was wearing a form-fitting light green shirt, that was paired with fine brown trousers, his sword hung at his belt. They were of a fine make, made for someone of nobility, definitely not belonging on a servant.

"Why are you dressed like that, servant?" Bedivere demanded, hatred and disgust obvious. The two guards behind Merlin scowled, both going for their weapons. Merlin held up a hand to stop them, they obeyed the silent order, though this only seemed to anger Bedivere further, his scowl deepening. "you will answer your better's boy." He said, starting forward but before the guards could do anything or even Merlin Gwaine grabbed him by the shoulder, swung him around to face him and punched him in the face. There was a sickening crack as the force of the punch sent to the knight careening to the floor.

"He has always been a better man than you," Gwaine said, spitting at the knight, and Merlin knew that the knight didn't just mean in social class. Bedivere cradled his broken nose, blood seeping between his fingers.

"You bastard." The knight hissed, his voice nasally, Gwaine simply shrugged.

"You deserved it." He said, glaring down at him and Merlin could tell something else had happened too.

"I'm going to kill you," Bedivere said, scrambling to his feet.

"Separate them," Merlin ordered and the dungeon guard hastily opened the cell, allowing his guards to go in a separate the two, pulling Gwaine out of the cell. The guard went to put him in another cell but Merlin spoke up.

"That won't be necessary." He said and the guard nodded, releasing the knight.

"Thanks mate," Gwaine said, grinning at him, Merlin rolled his eyes.

"What happened Gwaine?" he asked, pointedly ignoring the bug-eyed Bedivere, the knight was likely extremely confused as to why the guards were answering to him.

"Well Your Highness," Gwaine drawled, shooting a look to Bedivere "I was going back to my room for the night when I found him and his men sneaking around the castle. I was worried about what they were doing and I drew my weapon to fight them, I didn't want anyone getting hurt. Unfortunately, some of your knights came along and misinterpreted the situation.

"You're a sorcerer." Came a gasp and all eyes turned to Sir Bedivere, still in his cell. The man looked half terrified and half furious. Gwaine rolled his eyes.

"Yes, please try and keep track Bedi, Merlin here is the King of Aria and yes, is a sorcerer, anyway- "

"Warlock" Merlin interrupted and Gwaine shrugged. Bedivere sputtered slightly at the nickname Gwaine had just given him but quickly went back to anger, glaring at Merlin.

"Y-you are royalty?" Bedivere asked, growing astonishment on his face "Impossible, you are nothing but a servant." He said, and Merlin's guard, who was still in the cell, cuffed him across the head, sending the knight to the ground again. The guard pulled back his foot to kick the man but Merlin stopped him.

"Don't touch him." He quickly ordered and the guard stopped, boot inches from contact. "You are not to hurt him any further." He said, he crouched down beside the knight and carefully turning the wounded knight over, looking for signs of a head wound.

"But sire, he called you a servant." The guard protested.

"That's because I was in Camelot as a servant," Merlin replied, not looking up, and before the aghast guard could reply Bedivere recovered from the blow and took advantage of Merlin being crouched over him, he lunged for Merlin, locking his hands around the warlock's neck and squeezing. Merlin struggled against him, frantically clawing at the hands around his neck. He felt himself getting lightheaded and knew he needed to escape soon. The guard behind him tried to help, tried to pull Bedivere off him but it was useless, the man's grip was too strong, his anger fueling him. Merlin's vision began going black.

And then it was over, Bedivere's hands fell from his neck and Merlin collapsed backward, gasping for breath. He looked up and saw Arthur standing behind Bedivere, a sword in hand, Arthur had used the pommel of the weapon to knock the knight out. The dungeon guard and the one in the cell drew their weapons, eyeing Arthur warily, the third guard struggled to his feet, apparently Arthur had knocked him down and taken his sword. Arthur slowly lowered himself and put the sword on the ground, keeping eye contact with the guard in the cell. Gwaine was already at Merlin's side, helping him up.

"You all right mate?" He asked, looking at the young warlock in concern. Merlin nodded, his hand going up to massage his throat.

"You saved my life." Merlin croaked, looking to Arthur.

"Why didn't you use magic?" Arthur asked, his voice still chilly towards Merlin but for a split-second Merlin thought he saw a flash of concern cross his eyes.

"If I used magic against Bedivere you never would have forgiven me." He replied, his voice still rough.

"And so, you would let yourself be killed?" he asked, and Merlin shrugged.

"I knew someone would stop him." His tone suggesting that he certainly wasn't expecting it to be Arthur.

"What do you want us to do with him Sire?" asked the guard, his sword now leveled at the unconscious man's throat.

"I apologize for his actions; his punishment is up to you King Merlin." Arthur said diplomatically. Merlin bit his lip, the man had tried to kill him, that was a death sentence, but if he killed a knight of Camelot then many would think of that as the breaking point and there would doubtlessly be war.

"He is your knight Arthur, it is up to you to punish him, though he will remain here in the dungeons until you leave." He said and Arthur nodded, this way the man would not be left unpunished but war was averted, hopefully. "For now, we should leave, discuss this somewhere else," Merlin said and the other two nodded. They stepped out of the cell and they saw, rushing towards them, Leon. The blond knight skidded to a stop and stared at Arthur is shock.

"Sire." He said, his jaw practically dropping open. "H-how, I don't understand." He said, looking between Merlin and Arthur. Leon's eyes landed on Merlin's, no doubt already bruised, neck.

"Merlin…" Leon said softly, hesitantly, his eyes darting between Arthur, the bruises around Merlin's neck, and the guards. It was easy to tell what Leon might think. Arthur was unarmored and unarmed, a rare thing for the blond, Merlin had fresh bruises around his neck, three guards were watching the blond carefully and on top of it all they were in, of all places, the dungeons. The knight's hand drifted to his sword, hand resting on the hilt.

"Sir Bedivere did not take too kindly to the idea of me being royalty and having magic," Merlin explained.

"Bedivere is here?" Leon questioned.

"Yes, they were found sneaking around the castle last night, though I'm still not entirely sure why," he said, turning to the blond.

"We thought you were in trouble, once I found out that Aria had magic I thought they had lured you all here for a ransom," Arthur said, frowning. "I believe we must have a discussion, Sir Leon." Arthur finished, glaring daggers at the man, who gulped slightly.

"Of course, Sire." He said, bowing his head, before turning to Merlin. "Why is Gwaine down here exactly? I woke up and there were guards at all of our doors and Gwaine was missing, the others are looking for him as well."

"He was in the wrong place at the wrong time." Merlin replied, "we can discuss this more upstairs." Merlin said, motioning towards the exit and the group soon found themselves in the council room again. Merlin instructed one of the guards to track down the knights and tell them there was a meeting. He turned to Andrew who had begun following them again somewhere on the way back to the council chambers, Merlin wasn't entirely sure when, the servant was a quiet man.

Andrew stayed slightly behind and to the left of Merlin, keeping as far from Arthur as possible.

"Andrew could you please go to the kitchens and have some food sent up?" he asked and Andrew quickly bowed and disappeared. Merlin saw a flash of guilt on Arthur's face when the man left but it was quickly replaced with a cold indifference.

The first one to get there was Richard, he nodded politely, if a bit stiffly, to Arthur and bowed to Merlin before going to his chair, which Arthur had been hovering in front of. The next ones were the twins, both looked at Arthur in shock and exchanged glances before making there was to two seats to the left of Richard, though they left the chair next to the head knight empty. Arthur sat to the left of Merlin and Leon sat next to him, Gwaine took the chair opposite Merlin and sat back, putting his boots on the table and hands resting behind his head. The next to arrive was Nathan who gave Gwaine a dubious look and Arthur a wary one before sitting next to Richard, everyone knew that Nathan was Richard's unspoken heir, the next Head Knight or Aria. Next was Percival and Elyan, the two entered and saw Gwaine, relief crossed both faces and then they looked over and saw Arthur.

"Sire, when did you get here?" Elyan questioned.

"Last night." He answered, "and if you two would sit down I believe everyone wants an explanation." The two quickly took seats between. Finally, Owen walked in, looked around the room, saw Arthur and immediately went on guard, he shot a worried glance at Merlin but he just motioned him to sit. Owen took a seat between James and Gwaine.

Once everyone was at the table and the servants appeared placing large platters of assorted foods in front of them they ate. Once they had all eaten the servants cleared away the plates.

"Now Arthur would you please explain why you're here and how you got in." Merlin requested, turning to the blond. The King was silent for a second before beginning to tell them of how he had gone to look into Aria and what he discovered and the events that followed. When Arthur was finished he turned to Merlin.

"Now I've told my side, what happened after you left Camelot?" Arthur asked and Merlin told him everything, almost everything anyway, only omitting the conversation about his scars and his being Emrys, Arthur wasn't ready for that.

*Arthur POV*

Once Merlin was done telling him about everything that had happened after they had left Camelot, the only thing he could really say, despite everything he had learned and his anger towards Merlin at the moment was "I knew you were the one attracting all the trouble."

Merlin stared at him.

"Really? After everything I just told you that's what you take away from it, that you were right, how typical." Merlin said, exasperated, though Arthur spotted a slight upturn of his lips, a bare hint of smile.

"Well _Mer_ lin, you can't say I'm wrong, can you?" he snapped back and Merlin laughed, Arthur had heard that laugh many times before but this time there was something more to it, something fuller, and Arthur could see that everyone had heard the difference.

"Of course, I can." He replied stubbornly "just because I had some bad luck on the way here does not mean everything that we've faced has been my fault."

"No not everything." Arthur agreed before smirking "just most of it." Arthur wasn't sure why he was acting like it was old times with Merlin, teasing him like he was a friend, like nothing had changed. But things had changed, Merlin was a sorcerer, not to mention a King and had lied to Merlin for 6 years, 6 years in which Arthur had trusted the man with everything, with his very life and Merlin had betrayed him, so why was he being so friendly to him?

"Me and my men will be leaving in the morning, King Merlin." He said, once again slipping on the mask of King. Everyone stared at him at the abrupt change in mood.

"Excuse me Arthur but I swore an oath, an oath to help Aria and to help Merlin, I'm not leaving until that is fulfilled," Gwaine said, finally putting his feet down and sitting up angrily.

"You also swore an oath to me Sir Gwaine, an oath of fealty, and you will have to choose which oath you will break. Which King you will follow." Arthur said, glaring at the rouge knight as he stood.

"Sire please-" Leon began, standing so he could stop any impending fight.

"You will have to choose as well, Sir Leon." Arthur said, turning on the knight and cutting him off "all of you will, come morning anyone who does not return to Camelot with me will be branded a traitor and no longer be welcome in my kingdom, you will have to choose, me, or a sorcerer, choose wisely." Arthur finished before storming from the room, leaving everyone is a stunned silence.

The two guards fell behind Arthur as he stalked through the halls, he was grateful he remembered where his chambers were, it would be rather embarrassing to have to ask after what had just happened. He reached the room and slammed the doors behind him, the wood rattling from the force.

Once alone he tried to quell the rising frustration and restrained himself from punching the wall. Why? Why wasn't he angrier at Merlin? Why couldn't he bring himself to kill the sorcerer? Why couldn't he bring himself to kill Merlin? Was he afraid? Afraid of failure, afraid of what would happen if he didn't get the blade in time, or maybe afraid of what would happen after? He considered these things but after a minute of thinking he decided it was none of these, it was something else, something he refused to admit, even to himself. After exhausting his anger and he collapsed into the bed, not even bothering changing into the sleep clothes he had seen laid out for him.

 **AN: Please review and have a wonderful day! Wear your seatbelt!**


	31. Chapter 31

**AN: Hello Peoples! Here's the next chapter, hope you all enjoy and please review!**

 ***Arthur POV***

It was another one of those dreams, that was his first thought. Arthur stood in the woods his knights and Merlin were there too, only this time the knights were divided, Leon and Elyan stood with him, Gwaine and Percival stood with Merlin. Merlin himself wore the armor Arthur had seen him in that night, the night that he had learned the truth, his blue cape cascading off his shoulders. The knights looked angry and ready to fight one another and something about it broke Arthur's heart.

The scene suddenly changed and instead of the woods he was standing in valley, grey rocks gutting into the sky. All around him lay dead knights. He spotted Leon laying on the ground, he ran over and flipped him over, Leon stared up at the sky, an agonized expression on his face, eyes staring up emptily into the sky. Next to him lay Gwaine, wearing a blue cape of The Knights of Aria, he too, was dead, his sword still in his hand and bloody gash across his chest. Across the field he was sure he saw Percival on the ground, he too was wearing blue, Elyan's dead body lay nearby, wearing Camelot red. He looked around and saw more of his knights laying on the ground, dead, their bodies mixed with those of the Arian Knights. He saw the two twins, they had fallen together, fighting back to back, Sir Bedivere's body lay nearby, as did the body of Arthur's young knight, Sir Gavin. He heard a furious cry and looked up to see Richard running at him, cape in tatters and sword in hand. Before the knight reached him, he was suddenly thrown back and Merlin walked into view, hand out towards Richard. The knight went flying and hit a rock wall and slumped to the ground, lifeless. Merlin looked at Arthur, tears pouring down his face.

"I told you, Arthur, I told you this would happen and I told you I would save you, no matter the cost." Merlin shot a look at Richard's dead body, another tear slipped down his cheek. "I know you can't control yourself, I know you have no choice." Merlin said, his voice breaking and Arthur frowned in confusion until he noticed he was drawing Excalibur. He tried to stop himself but he couldn't, he looked at Merlin in confusion and fear.

"I tried, I tried to protect you from her but-but I couldn't, I'm sorry," Merlin said, shaking his head. Arthur began walking towards Merlin, sword drawn and he was filled with horror when he realized what he was going to do. "I won't stop you, Arthur." Merlin said, "I won't hurt you." Arthur wanted to scream at Merlin, tell him to stop this, to stop _him_ , but nothing came out. Merlin dropped to his knees as Arthur approached and when he reached him, he looked up at Arthur, eyes wide, his tears making the blue look like gems.

"I forgive you." He whispered, and Excalibur came down.

A flash of white and he was standing in that empty white space again, gasping for breath, no sword in hand, no one else around, not even the bodies of the dead. He looked around and saw them. There standing before him were three women. The first was a young maiden, more gorgeous than he thought possible, her golden hair flowed to her waist, her skin was a pure milky white, perfect, and unblemished. The maiden's face was soft and gentle, her lips plump and red, a slight coloring to her cheeks. She wore a long white dress that easily highlighted her curves. Next to her stood a slightly older woman, motherly was the only word he could think of as he looked at her. Her brown hair ended a little past her shoulders, shocks of white here and there. Her face was kind, though wrinkled from age, laugh lines around her mouth and eyes, her eyes were a soft brown color, welcoming and kind. Next to her stood an old crone, she was bent over, her white hair, falling around her face. Her hands that hung from her side were gnarled and wrinkled. But with all three, of any other air they gave off, the air of power was the strongest, it was raw power that made Arthur want to cower. Next to them, Arthur felt weak, felt tiny in their eyes.

"Arthur Pendragon," the Maiden said.

"This is your third warning." The mother took up.

"Your final warning." The old woman croaked.

"If you do not accept magic, all you have seen will come to pass, Camelot will fall and darkness will reign." The Maiden warned, her normally soft voice turning hard and cold.

"But we know your heart is clouded by your father's teachings young Pendragon." The mother said, still gentle.

"And so, we will show you the truth, the truth of the magic that has protected you for so long." The old woman finished.

The whiteness around him changes, changed into a familiar scene, he was standing in the courtyard of Camelot, around him was a crowd of people, before him a scaffold. He recognized this, it was the day that sorcerer had been executed, the day that witch had sworn to kill him and the day he had first met Merlin. In the crowd he spotted Merlin, looking younger, he had a sack on his back and was looking up, Arthur followed his gaze and saw his father there, giving his speech. When the guards brought the sorcerer out he tried to stop them but found he could do nothing, couldn't even move, he could only watch. And he watched as the man was executed as the witch swore to kill him and disappeared. He found himself following Merlin up to Gaius's chambers and saw him save the old man. He watched for hours and hours, adventure after adventure, Merlin saved him so many times, used magic _for him_ over and over. He watched for what felt like days or weeks everything that had happened the past 6 years only this time he saw Merlin's side too. And then suddenly it was over, he was standing before the women, tears in his eyes.

"I-" Arthur tried but he could find no words, nothing to say after everything he had just seen. After a few minutes of sorting his thoughts, he looked at them. "Why?" he asked, voice cracking.

"You are the Once and Future King, He is Emrys, it is his duty to protect you." The maiden answered, looking at him kindly.

"No, no I understand that," Arthur said, shaking his head "Why us? Why have you put Merlin through so much?" he asked, somehow he knew that these three women were responsible for everything that had happened to both men.

"He had to face the things he did, and you the things you did it made you into the men you are today." The mother answered.

"It made you into the men who will unite Albion and bring back magic to the kingdom." The crone said.

"But why must Albion be united? Are we not doing well enough separated, yes there is war and strife but that is everywhere, why must we suffer for a kingdom that does not want to be one?" he asked, his voice breaking slightly.

"One day Young Pendragon, when Albion is united you will face a foe like no other one before, it is a force that is mightier than any other and they will come to destroy you." The maid said, sorrow in her voice.

"When this happens, you must be a united force if you want to win against them, if you want to save your kingdom." The mother spoke this time.

"If you do not, then they will kill your people, plunder, and take these lands, just as they have so many before you, you must prevent this." The old crone explained.

"But why us? Why not someone else?" Arthur asked, getting frustrated.

"You are the only ones worthy." The maid answered.

"Now it is time for you to return young Pendragon." The mother said, before Arthur could argue.

"There is much for you to do." The crone said. Suddenly all three began speaking, thousands of voices once again joining in.

"WE ARE THE TRIPLE GODDESS, HEAD OUR WORDS ARTHUR PENDRAGON." They said and it was chilling, and comforting, a warning, and a promise. A warning of the horrible things to come and a promise of reward once it was over. The whiteness faded and Arthur shot up in bed, sweat pouring off him.

"Merlin, I need to speak with Merlin." He said to the empty room. He dragged himself from the bed, not even pausing to straighten his ruffled hair and clothes. He hesitated at the door, wondering if the door would be locked, but luckily it wasn't. He swung the door opened and turned to one of the guards.

"I need to speak to your king." He said and the guard frowned.

"It's the middle of the night." He said skeptically.

"I don't care, I need to see him." The guards hesitated.

"Trust me, what I need to discuss with him is important, do you really want to risk him getting angry when he finds out tomorrow that he could have had our discussion tonight." Arthur tried, hoping the guard's fear of reprimand would overpower his fear of waking his king in the dead of night, it worked.

The guards lead him through the halls until they reached a heavy set of oak doors that four guards stood in front of.

"He needs to speak to the king." Arthur's guard told them.

"His majesty is sleeping, surely it can wait till morning." One of the guards replied.

"He says it can't" Arthur's guard replied.

"Well, I'm sure as hell not waking him." The guard said, shaking his head, the guards all looked at each other, no one wanting to wake their king in the middle of the night.

"Oh, for Camelot's sake." Arthur said, shoving past the guards, and banging on the door. "Merlin wake up, we need to talk!" he called and immediately the guards recovered from their shock and shoved him back. They were about to fuss at him when the door creaked open, revealing a sleepy looking Merlin, chest bare.

"Arthur?" he asked, his voice rough from lack of use. The guards hastily bowed.

"Sorry Sire but he insisted he needed to talk to you." One of them said, shooting an annoyed look at Arthur, the blond ignored him.

"No, no it's fine," Merlin said, opening the door and motioning Arthur in, as he walked past Arthur had to work not to laugh at Merlin's hair sticking up everywhere. Arthur's guards tried to follow but Merlin motioned for them to stay and closed the door.

"What's this about Arthur? If you decided to kill me after all can it wait for morning? I was having a good dream." He said, a sad smile graced his face when he said the last bit and Arthur couldn't help but wonder about what Merlin was dreaming about, maybe it was Freya. Arthur studied his friend, Merlin was more muscular then he thought he would be, though with everything the man had done it wasn't too surprising now. He found himself staring at the scars and remembering how each one had been received. Merlin seemed to realize that he was shirtless and blushed.

"Sorry." He muttered, grabbing a shirt from the floor and pulling it over his head.

"Is it true?" Arthur asked.

"Is what true?" Merlin asked, confused, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes "Arthur you're being confusing."

"Did you get those scars protecting me?" Arthur asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Merlin stared at him in shock, his jaw practically hanging open.

"I- how?" Merlin stuttered.

"Just answer the question, Merlin." Arthur ordered, taking on the voice he used when he talked to Merlin as his king, to his surprise it worked.

"Yes." Merlin answered and Arthur ran a hand through his hair.

"So, it was all true, you're Emrys." He said, his chest rising and falling quicker and quicker as he tried to catch his breath.

"How- how did you know that?" Merlin asked, taking a step back.

"Oh hells" Arthur cursed, his chest felt like it was beating at a million beats a minute, it was too much, everything was too much, first Merlin was a king, then he had magic and now he was the most powerful sorcerer, warlock he silently corrected himself, to ever walk the earth. He felt his breathing get faster and faster, he couldn't breathe he couldn't focus. He heard a noise in the background but he couldn't quite make it out.

 ***Merlin POV***

Arthur was having a panic attack, he couldn't be sure how Arthur had found out but he recognized the signs of such an attack.

"Arthur! Arthur!" he yelled, trying to get the blond to snap out of it, but the young king couldn't hear him. Arthur's breathing had become frantic and his hand was clutching his chest, no doubt his heart was racing. Merlin ran over and grabbed Arthur by the shoulders, forcing him to look at him.

"Arthur." He said calmly "You need to calm down." He told him, the blond struggled in his grip but Merlin held on tight, his need to help his friend giving him his strength. "Look at me. LOOK AT ME." Merlin ordered, and, to his relief, Arthur listened, panicked blue eyes going to his calm ones. "Breathe Arthur, slowly." The blond obeyed, taking in a long breath and slowly letting it out, he did this several times and his eyes cleared of panic.

"Thank you." Arthur said, and something in his tone told Merlin that he wasn't just saying about his help during the panic attack.

 ***Arthur POV***

"Tell me what happened Arthur." Merlin said gently. Arthur began to tell him about his dreams and what had happened in them. The two eventually moved and sat at the small dining table as they spoke. When Arthur was done Merlin sat in a stunned silence.

"The triple goddess." He breathed, "I can't believe you met the triple goddess."

"I can't believe you've saved my life so many times" Arthur retorted, he wouldn't admit it but his pride was a little hurt that he had received so much help, it was almost like none of his achievements were his own, he pushed this down and looked back at Merlin. "Thank you." He said softly. Merlin's eyes filled with tears.

"Thank you, Arthur, thank you." He said and pulled the blond into a hug, Arthur stiffened for a minute before giving in and hugging the man back. The two stayed like that for some time, both silently thinking about the next steps.

"So, what now?" Arthur finally asked, pulling back, and looking at Merlin. Merlin was silent for a minute.

"I need help Arthur, I need help defending my kingdom, my uncle has a powerful army and I have no doubt has things no one is expecting." Merlin said, looking intently into Arthur's eyes.

"You have stood by me through everything Merlin, have saved me and Camelot more times than I can count, it's about time I return the favor. Camelot stands with you."

 ***Merlin POV***

Arthur and Merlin stood together in the council chambers, Arthur's armor and sword had been returned to him, despite the protests from the council.

"My Lord how do you know we can trust him, just yesterday he was a threat." Lord Malcolm asked, obviously frustrated with the alliance that Merlin had just announced. Before he could defend him, Arthur spoke up.

"Last night the Triple Goddess came to me in a dream, she told me all that Merlin had done for me and exactly what our destiny was." He said, staring at the lord defiantly, daring him to challenge him.

"The Triple Goddess came to _you_.? He questioned doubtfully. "and why would she do that?" There was obvious contempt in the Lord's tone.

"She came to me to help me accept Merlin and accept magic, she came to me because I need to fulfill my destiny and I- I was being too stubborn." Arthur admitted, it hurt his pride some but if the Goddess had taught him anything it was that he was too stubborn, that sometimes he was wrong and he needed to learn when to step down.

"I still don't trust him." Lord Malcolm said, glaring at the blond.

"Well I do, and should anyone insult him or try to attack him I will take it as a personal insult." He said and met each council members eyes, holding Lord Malcolm's stare for some time until finally the nobleman nodded and looked away.

"Good, now that that's out of the way we need to discuss new battle strategies. If Camelot is joining us in this war then we need to come up with a way for them to be able to fight me Uncle's men and not be destroyed." He said and the council began discussing ways to keep the Camelotians alive on the battlefield.

When the council meeting was over and plans to outfit the Camelotians in magical armor and enchant their capes were underway Arthur pulled Merlin aside.

"Merlin, I need to go back to my men, I didn't come here with just the ones you saw, there are more camped outside the city. If I don't return they will return to Camelot and come back here with an army to destroy you." He said, his brow furrowed in worry. Merlin was silent for a minute as he thought about what Arthur said. He couldn't let Arthur go alone, he didn't want to risk him if he was attacked by bandits or if Arthur's knights thought he was enchanted and didn't let him return. He couldn't go with him because that would just reinforce the idea of enchantment.

"Arthur I'm not letting you go alone it's too dangerous and I can't go with you." He said, voicing his thoughts "But we could send a messenger to get them." He offered and Arthur looked doubtful.

"They may think it's a trap." He said.

"Then send a message that would only come from you." Merlin suggested and Arthur thought about it for a second before grinning and nodding.

"I have just the message." He said, a glint in his eye that worried Merlin.

 ***Unknown POV***

The man looked behind him, ensuring that no one was following him before disappearing into an abandoned room. In the center of the room stood a scrying bowl. He walked over and chanted the words that activated the bowl. The water swirled before an image rippled into view. An older man stood there, glaring. The man had messy black hair that was quickly being overtaken by grey and a short beard that only had patches of black. An ugly scar ran across his face that twisted and made him look even more malicious as he sneered.

"I see you succeeded in disguising yourself, any trouble in subduing the fool you replaced, does anyone know?" he asked and the man shook his head.

"No, Sire, I have infiltrated the young King's court and no one is the wiser. The man put up a bigger fight than I expected but I managed him, I also bring information. The young Pendragon arrived and has made an alliance with your nephew."

"What?! How did this happen?!" The dark king raged, his face going red with fury. The man backed away from the scrying bowl slightly in fear.

"Apparently, he came to save his knights, thinking they were in danger." The man said, finally walking back to the bowl, and looking at his king in fear. "When he got here he found out the truth and decided to help" the man hesitated slightly and the king narrowed his eyes.

"What is it?" he demanded.

"W-well Sire, he claims to have received a vision from the Triple Goddess that told him he needed to work with your nephew." He reported.

"I highly doubt that," the king said, his voice full of contempt. "Why would the Triple Goddess give a damn about either one of them?" he questioned.

"Apparently your nephew is Emrys and the Pendragon is the Once and Future King." The man reported nervously. The king stared at him for several seconds before bursting out into laughter. The Dark king's laugh was not one that was pleasant to here, instead, it was cruel and grating, sending chills down the man's back.

"That sniveling child is no Emrys, besides that is just a fairy tale the druids tell their young and if my nephew is telling people that he is Emrys then he is a bigger fool than I thought." He replied once his laughter had finally abated. "Do you have any more news or are you just wasting my time?"

"King Arthur arrived with some of his knights though he left them in a clearing outside the city, they are to return to Camelot if he does not return and bring Camelot's army to fight Aria. They are sending a messenger in the morning to tell the knights that Arthur is safe and they should come to the city." The man reported, a wicked gleam in his eye. The dark king smiled, a cruel ugly thing.

"Well then, we best ensure that messenger never gets to them."

 **Hope you all enjoyed! Please tell me what you thought in the reviews! See you next time!**


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